Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Kercheville Advisors LLC

Kercheville Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,230 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,235 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises approximately 2.5% of Kercheville Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Kercheville Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $138.06 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $136.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $100.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.65.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was 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 now owns 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. The trade was 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 hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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