Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio reduced its Blackstone stake by 5.1% in the first quarter, selling 9,797 shares and ending with 183,287 shares valued at about $21.1 million.
• Blackstone reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.36 versus expectations of $1.34 and revenue of $3.43 billion, with revenue up 10% year over year.
• The stock remains heavily institutionally owned and carries mixed analyst sentiment, with 70% held by institutions and Wall Street’s consensus rating at “Moderate Buy” with a $149.36 average price target.

Strs Ohio lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 183,287 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,797 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Blackstone were worth $21,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jain Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,116,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,270,608 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $217,083,000 after purchasing an additional 24,237 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 20.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 840,401 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $143,582,000 after purchasing an additional 142,479 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 904,237 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $154,489,000 after buying an additional 18,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 275.2% in the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 108,374 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $18,516,000 after purchasing an additional 79,491 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $122.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.17 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $119.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.02.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.36.

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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