Advisory Alpha LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Advisory Alpha LLC reduced its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 45.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,193 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,842 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Blackstone by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 29,224 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,039,000 after buying an additional 11,786 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $4,239,000. Finally, Evernest Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $217,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $139.02. 3,935,528 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,792,192. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business's fifty day moving average is $135.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BX. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.65.

Blackstone Company 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.