Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc Sells 7,477,500 Shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $123.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average of $121.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.35.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $164,597,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares during the period. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Blackstone by 16,035.1% in the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $194,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Argus cut their price target on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

About Blackstone

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.