Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Guardian Investment Management

Guardian Investment Management lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 129,915 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,300 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 14.7% of Guardian Investment Management's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Guardian Investment Management's holdings in Blackstone were worth $18,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at $38,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock traded up $3.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $152.82. 4,543,599 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,846,177. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.03, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $139.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.83.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BX. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.