Capital Research Global Investors Buys Shares of 1,391,003 Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,391,003 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $239,837,000. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.19% of Blackstone as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 214.2% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Blackstone by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $139,302,000 after purchasing an additional 51,897 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Up 6.0 %

BX stock traded up $7.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $134.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,576,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,749,658. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $98.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The business's 50 day moving average price is $142.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.19.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 112.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $153.72.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.