NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Grows Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,593 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 607 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of BX opened at $136.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.50 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. 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 quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.85.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

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.