Graham Capital Management L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management cut its Blackstone stake by 55.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 30,763 shares and ending with 24,497 shares worth about $3.78 million.
• Insider buying remained active, including director Ruth Porat’s purchase of 355 shares and a much larger 2.87 million-share buy by Blackstone Holdings Iv Gp Mana; insiders have bought 12.36 million shares over the last 90 days.
• Analysts are still broadly constructive on Blackstone, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86, even as some firms trimmed their targets.

Graham Capital Management L.P. trimmed its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 55.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,497 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 30,763 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,686,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management increased its position 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 worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 2,868,069 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.86.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $127.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.59. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $120.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.70.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.67%.

Blackstone Profile

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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