Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Buys New Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,387 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,446,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after buying an additional 889,286 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,341,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,637,266,000 after purchasing an additional 444,887 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Blackstone by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,016,046 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,209,707,000 after purchasing an additional 681,512 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,987,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,032,400,000 after buying an additional 371,677 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $974,448,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 1,660,538 shares of company stock worth $24,981,930 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $139.41 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.82.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.