32,843 Shares in Blackstone Inc. $BX Bought by Dupree Financial Group LLC

Dupree Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 32,843 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,777,000. Blackstone makes up 1.5% of Dupree Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:BX opened at $115.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $120.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.07. The company has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company 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%. Blackstone’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.