Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $7.19 Million Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 91.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,685 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 19,930 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 11,232 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,163,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.5% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 25,865 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,961,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,523 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,617,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,738,349. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.84 and a 200-day moving average of $164.19. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $92.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 112.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BX. Bank of America cut their price target on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.72.

Blackstone Profile

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.