Blackstone Inc. $BX Holdings Lifted by First Financial Bankshares Inc

First Financial Bankshares Inc increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 734,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 15,108 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 2.3% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. First Financial Bankshares Inc owned 0.10% of Blackstone worth $113,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,024,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $120.67 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $119.81 and a 200-day moving average of $131.09. 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 company has a market capitalization of $89.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

Blackstone Company 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.