Community Financial Services Group LLC Lowers Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Community Financial Services Group LLC reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 54.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,133 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,532 shares during the quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,637 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 7,056 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $289,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $138.30 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $137.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.91 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 19.83%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.65.

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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