AG Campbell Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 41,248 Blackstone Inc. $BX

AG Campbell Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 41,248 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $6,358,000. Blackstone makes up approximately 2.0% of AG Campbell Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,251,474,000 after buying an additional 329,379 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $123.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $121.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.35. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 9,487,234 shares of company stock worth $189,789,892 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus reduced their target price on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

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.