Castleark Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Castleark Management LLC trimmed its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 417,020 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 23,600 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises approximately 2.5% of Castleark Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Blackstone worth $71,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 137,888 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $23,775,000 after buying an additional 18,637 shares in the last quarter. Note Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Ames National Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $690,000. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,060 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,011,000 after purchasing an additional 14,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,680 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $144.10 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $137.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $105.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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 paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BX. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.82.

About Blackstone

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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