Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 17.1%, leaving it with 27,423 shares, worth approximately $3.8 million, making it the 11th largest position in its portfolio.
• Blackstone recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03, up from $0.93, representing an annual yield of 2.4% with a payout ratio currently at 100%.
• Analyst price targets for Blackstone see a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $170.12, amidst mixed ratings from various firms in recent research reports.

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,423 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 5,651 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 1.8% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $279,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 476,213 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $82,109,000 after purchasing an additional 13,555 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354,219 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $61,065,000 after buying an additional 7,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone purchased 1,189,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, with a total value of $29,999,997.04. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,388,604.62. The trade was a 39.79% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.43. 2,467,232 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,099,879. The company has a market capitalization of $123.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.54, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, July 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.12.

Blackstone Company 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.