Canal Capital Management LLC Has $12.15 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Canal Capital Management increased its Blackstone stake by 17.7% in the first quarter, buying 15,892 more shares and bringing its position to 105,645 shares worth about $12.15 million.
• Blackstone reported Q1 earnings of $1.36 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue came in just below expectations at $3.43 billion and rose 10% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive: Blackstone has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $149.36, even as several firms recently trimmed their targets.

Canal Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 17.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,645 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 15,892 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 1.6% of Canal Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Canal Capital Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BX. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Argus cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.36.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $122.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.17 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

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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