Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 22,999 shares valued at $3.2 million.
• Blackstone announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.03 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.93, with the dividend reflecting an annual yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 110.75%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Blackstone's stock, with JMP Securities raising the target price to $195, while UBS Group lowered theirs to $175; the stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold."

City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,999 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,350 shares during the quarter. City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 105.4% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 6,878 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $63,109,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $1,747,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 64,614 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,032,000 after acquiring an additional 16,486 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Saturday, July 19th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $167.70 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.55. The company has a market capitalization of $122.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The business's revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 110.75%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone bought 1,189,532 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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