Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 857,801 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Blackstone worth $106,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 27,680 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 202,475 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,584,000 after acquiring an additional 36,977 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Blackstone by 245.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,026 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 4,993 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $142.36 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.59 and a 52-week high of $145.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.41 and a 200 day moving average of $127.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $101.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

About Blackstone

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.