Moran Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,679 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,874 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up 0.9% of Moran Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $26,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 12.0% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 32,784 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,582,000 after acquiring an additional 3,502 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 28,915 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,042,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 19,411 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.5% during the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 386,565 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $54,034,000 after buying an additional 5,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Embree Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% in the first quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 63,050 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,813,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BX. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $151.29 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $110.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.57, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.65. The company's fifty day moving average price is $138.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.64.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director now owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.