Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Acquired by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,105 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 763.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 34,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,115,488.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Reginald J. Brown purchased 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $125.62 per share, with a total value of $301,488.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,129,133.38. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 2,851 shares of company stock worth $357,137 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $124.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.65.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE BX traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $123.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,233,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,672,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.79. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.28 and a 12 month high of $133.56. The company has a market capitalization of $88.37 billion, a PE ratio of 43.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $124.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.47.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.98. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 117.31%.

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.