Leavell Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,216 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 19,450 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 1.1% of Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $22,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Blackstone by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,970,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,027 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:BX traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $162.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,578,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,876,686. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $118.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.82, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.65. The business's 50 day moving average is $143.19 and its 200 day moving average is $151.07.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone bought 1,660,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.