Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Ranch Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,270 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,506 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 1.4% of Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Ranch Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Jain Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,116,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,270,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $217,083,000 after acquiring an additional 24,237 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 840,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $143,582,000 after purchasing an additional 142,479 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Blackstone by 16,035.1% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 346,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $58,337,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $117.96 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $117.10 and its 200 day moving average is $134.76. The company has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.63. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Argus lowered their target price on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 price objective on Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. This represents a 18.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.00, for a total transaction of $475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 125,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,375,000. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders bought 4,015,297 shares of company stock valued at $105,053,996 and sold 9,128,660 shares valued at $46,457,920. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Profile

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.