Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TCG Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 2,397 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. First National Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 8,721 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $122,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 466.0% during the 4th quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 1,913 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.8 %

BX stock traded down $1.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $117.99. 4,437,459 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,497,968. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.92 and a 52-week high of $133.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $125.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.32 billion, a PE ratio of 41.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The company’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 117.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet lowered Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,349,313. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total value of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 393,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,294,783.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares in the company, valued at $4,349,313. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Company 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.