Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Acquired by Avory & Company LLC

Avory & Company LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 780.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,533 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,973 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for about 3.4% of Avory & Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $123.45 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $91.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $119.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.87.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its 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. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.36.

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.