BOS Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

BOS Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,180 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 499 shares during the quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $239,837,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,990,238 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $515,577,000 after buying an additional 835,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $130.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.13 and a 200 day moving average of $164.76. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.72.

About Blackstone

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.