Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Sells $26,246,039.04 in Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

BX traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $113.46. 8,822,018 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,658,111. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The firm has a market cap of $84.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.94 and a 200 day moving average of $149.16.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.49 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $158.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Blackstone by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after acquiring an additional 329,379 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.