Ithaka Group LLC Sells 1,816 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• Ithaka Group LLC has reduced its shares in Blackstone Inc. by 2.0%, now holding 88,508 shares valued at approximately $12.37 million.
• Blackstone recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.93, representing a yield of about 2.4%.
• Despite varying analyst ratings, Blackstone has an average price target of $170.12, with reports indicating expectations for earnings per share of 5.87 for the current year.

Ithaka Group LLC decreased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,508 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,816 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 2.5% of Ithaka Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ithaka Group LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 18.4% during the first quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 44,742 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,254,000 after acquiring an additional 6,945 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. American Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1,270.5% during the 1st quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 47,351 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 43,896 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 17,090 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen decreased 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.36, for a total transaction of $16,736,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 808,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,353,571.52. This trade represents a 11.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX traded up $1.75 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $169.43. 2,467,232 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,099,879. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $123.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.71. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $153.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business's revenue was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 110.75%.

Blackstone Profile

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.