Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 418 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of BX stock opened at $138.30 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone 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.