Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Bought by Princeton Global Asset Management LLC

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,772 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 2.2% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $13,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after buying an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after purchasing an additional 329,379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.2%

Blackstone stock opened at $115.66 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $85.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $120.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.07.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. HSBC reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Argus cut their target price on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.86.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.