Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Insider Vikrant Sawhney Sells 30,014 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 Blackstone shares on May 1 at an average price of $125.79 for about $3.78M, trimming his stake by 3.23% to 899,669 shares (SEC filing).
• Dividend & coverage: Blackstone declared a $1.16 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.64, ~3.7% yield) payable May 11, but the payout ratio is high at 152.43%, suggesting dividends exceed current earnings coverage.
• Mixed fundamentals and sentiment: Q1 results beat slightly (EPS $1.36 vs. $1.34; revenue $3.62B, +10% YoY), yet analyst views are split (consensus "Hold", average target $150.95) and a Zacks downgrade may weigh on near-term sentiment.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $0.98 on Friday, reaching $126.56. 5,627,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,923,288. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.74. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $115.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 152.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $983,690,000 after buying an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 worth $12,100,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,060 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Blackstone by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $194,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,197 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on BX. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research lowered Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $143.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sources say Apollo, Blackstone and KKR are competing to buy Shell’s stake in the massive LNG Canada project — a potential strategic investment for Blackstone that could add scale to its energy/private assets and revenue potential if a deal is reached. Exclusive: Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend coverage highlights an upcoming payout (Simply Wall St/Yahoo piece), which can support investor sentiment for BX by signaling cash return and income potential for shareholders. Blackstone Inc. NYSE: BX Pays A US$1.16 Dividend In Just Two Days
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-focused coverage of Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call (MSN roundup of top analyst questions) may affect near-term guidance detail and investor expectations but is more informational unless new guidance or revisions emerge. Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call: Our top 5 analyst questions
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 BX shares on May 1 at about $125.79 (≈$3.78M), reducing his stake by ~3.23% — a large, disclosed sale that can be perceived negatively by investors searching for insider conviction. SEC filing: Insider sale SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research moved BX to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), a notable downgrade that can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by momentum/quant strategies. Coverage referenced by Zacks/TickerReport and media roundups. Zacks.com Tickerreport: Zacks downgrade

About Blackstone

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.

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