Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 866,851 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 47.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 952,518 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 866,851 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Blackstone worth $133,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This represents 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 insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $3.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.29. 7,633,237 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,842,893. The company's 50 day moving average price is $138.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.64. The firm has a market cap of $110.39 billion, a PE ratio of 45.57, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

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.