NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Boosts Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,254 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 4,602 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.3% in the third quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 15,116 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,335 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 1,146,789 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 16,716,249 shares in the company, valued at $437,297,073.84. The trade was a 7.37% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $166.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.86.

Blackstone Trading Down 2.7%

Blackstone stock opened at $110.40 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.16 and a 200 day moving average of $148.21.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.49 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 153.61%.

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.