Vikrant Sawhney Sells 30,014 Shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,627,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,923,288. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.95 and a 200-day moving average of $137.27. The firm has a market cap of $93.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 152.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC cut their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

More Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sources say Apollo, Blackstone and KKR are competing to buy Shell’s stake in the massive LNG Canada project — a potential strategic investment for Blackstone that could add scale to its energy/private assets and revenue potential if a deal is reached. Exclusive: Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend coverage highlights an upcoming payout (Simply Wall St/Yahoo piece), which can support investor sentiment for BX by signaling cash return and income potential for shareholders. Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Pays A US$1.16 Dividend In Just Two Days
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-focused coverage of Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call (MSN roundup of top analyst questions) may affect near-term guidance detail and investor expectations but is more informational unless new guidance or revisions emerge. Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call: Our top 5 analyst questions
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 BX shares on May 1 at about $125.79 (?$3.78M), reducing his stake by ~3.23% — a large, disclosed sale that can be perceived negatively by investors searching for insider conviction. SEC filing: Insider sale SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research moved BX to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), a notable downgrade that can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by momentum/quant strategies. Coverage referenced by Zacks/TickerReport and media roundups. Zacks.com Tickerreport: Zacks downgrade

Blackstone Company 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.