Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC Has $3.73 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 59.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,390 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 48,433 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.86.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $115.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $120.62 and its 200-day moving average is $129.22. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

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.