Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Capital Management Associates NY

Key Points

• Capital Management Associates NY reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 61.4%, owning 8,000 shares after selling 12,713 during the first quarter, now comprising 2.2% of their investment portfolio.
• Insider activity saw significant trades, including a purchase of 1,660,000 shares by Private Credit Stra for $24.9 million, highlighting a 24,898.76% increase in their position.
• Blackstone announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.03 per share, which is a boost from the previous dividend of $0.93, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.33%.

Capital Management Associates NY lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 61.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 12,713 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises approximately 2.2% of Capital Management Associates NY's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Capital Management Associates NY's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, July 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.4%

Blackstone stock traded down $2.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $172.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,445,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,817,474. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $126.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $151.86 and a 200 day moving average of $150.84.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone acquired 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired 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 owned 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.