KBC Group NV Sells 190,415 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

KBC Group NV lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 41.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 273,901 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 190,415 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $31,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.71.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.6%

NYSE BX opened at $123.64 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $91.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Profile

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.