Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Sells 15,922 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 47.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 15,922 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $983,690,000 after buying an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after buying an additional 1,249,269 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Blackstone by 476.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $117.42 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Blackstone from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.36.

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.