Insider Selling: Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Sells 7,477,504 Shares of Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $113.46. 8,822,018 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,658,111. The stock has a market cap of $84.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $131.94 and its 200 day moving average is $149.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.49 dividend. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 153.61%.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 15,116 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BX. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $185.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.86.

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.