Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock: Insider Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc Sells 3,767,776 Shares

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $11,077,261.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,392.80. This represents a 99.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of BX stock traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $112.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,718,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,116,132. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $170.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.03. The company has a market cap of $84.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hudock Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.3% during the second quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 22,369 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,632,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,888 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,256 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $122.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.71.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone’s businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.