Aigen Investment Management LP Invests $785,000 in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,827,437 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,100,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,060 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 16,035.1% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $194,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,197 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 636,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1%

BX opened at $122.63 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $119.98 and a 200-day moving average of $130.96. The stock has a market cap of $91.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone 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.