Tranquility Partners LLC Sells 9,883 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Tranquility Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,883 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 3.9% of Tranquility Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BX. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 7.0% in the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 121,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,002,000 after acquiring an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 303,069 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,348,000 after acquiring an additional 15,875 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,734,000. Kampmann Melissa S. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,314,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Blackstone by 1,722.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 504,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,046,000 after buying an additional 476,768 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $123.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,150,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,695,195. The firm has a market cap of $88.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.60, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.92 and a twelve month high of $133.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The asset manager reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.16. Blackstone had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 205.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total transaction of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 393,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,294,783.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,102.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total transaction of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at $50,294,783.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BX shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $118.00 price target on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.92.

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.