Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Purchases 118,260 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 402,059 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,260 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $61,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth $26,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.36.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $117.96 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $117.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $87.63 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 125,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,375,000. This represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 4,015,297 shares of company stock valued at $105,053,996 and sold 9,128,660 shares valued at $46,457,920. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.