Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Integrated Advisors Network LLC

Key Points

• Integrated Advisors Network LLC cut its Blackstone stake by 11.8% in the first quarter, selling 26,037 shares and leaving it with 193,739 shares valued at about $22.3 million.
• Blackstone continues to be heavily owned by institutions, with about 70% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds; several large firms, including Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, and State Street, also boosted positions recently.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations with $1.36 EPS versus the $1.34 estimate, and analysts still view the stock favorably overall with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a price target of $149.36.

Integrated Advisors Network LLC reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,739 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 26,037 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises about 1.2% of Integrated Advisors Network LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Integrated Advisors Network LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $22,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after buying an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,065,374,000 after buying an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after purchasing an additional 329,379 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.36.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $121.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $119.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.87. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Profile

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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