Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Lowers Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,548 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,113 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,469,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the fourth 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 grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth 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 grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 8.3% during the fourth 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 and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the purchase, the director owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $1.85 on Friday, hitting $162.21. 3,976,798 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,889,852. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $143.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BX shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $137.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $161.29.

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.