First Trust Advisors LP Sells 173,871 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its Blackstone position by 75.7% in the first quarter, selling 173,871 shares and retaining 55,821 shares worth approximately $6.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of Blackstone.
• Blackstone reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.34, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. Shares opened at $128.18, with analysts holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $147.95 price target.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $1.16 to $1.29 per share, representing an annualized payout of $5.16 and a 4.0% yield.

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 75.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,821 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 173,871 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $128.18 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 103.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 10,825,959 shares of company stock valued at $224,789,900. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

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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