13,878 Shares in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Acquired by Everpar Advisors LLC

Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,817,000. Blackstone accounts for about 0.8% of Everpar Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Blackstone by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 303,069 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,348,000 after purchasing an additional 15,875 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $855,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $3,734,000. Kampmann Melissa S. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,314,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 1,722.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 476,768 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE BX traded down $1.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.79. 2,918,918 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,674,363. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.05 and a 1 year high of $133.56. The stock has a market cap of $85.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.45.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.98. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.31%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 28,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.05, for a total value of $3,694,498.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 982,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,773,399.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,294,783.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 2,851 shares of company stock worth $357,137 and have sold 2,587,168 shares worth $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $116.00 to $124.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Blackstone from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.65.

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.