Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXFree Report) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 802,860 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,901 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Blackstone worth $137,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $35,000. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $141.36 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $104.38 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $1.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $164.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. UBS Group set a $171.00 target price on Blackstone in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.33.

Get Our Latest Report on Blackstone

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,741,192.84. This represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 770,078 shares of company stock worth $20,058,800. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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About Blackstone

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Blackstone (NYSE:BX)

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