First Trust Advisors LP Buys 194,634 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 146.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 327,848 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 194,634 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Blackstone were worth $56,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 258.6% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 291,437 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $50,250,000 after purchasing an additional 210,177 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 167,796 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,931,000 after buying an additional 9,135 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 402,948 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $69,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Piper Sandler lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.72.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.9 %

NYSE BX opened at $124.89 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $91.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.45.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 158.68%.

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.

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