Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $20.50 Million Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,884 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $20,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 16,854 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Opinicus Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $2,177,000. Bank OZK grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank OZK now owns 10,189 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Blackstone by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 202,475 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $26,584,000 after acquiring an additional 36,977 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $120.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.79. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.92 and a 52-week high of $133.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.62, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 117.31%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 28,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.05, for a total value of $3,694,498.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 982,221 shares in the company, valued at $125,773,399.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer downgraded Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Blackstone from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 target price (down previously from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.65.

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.