Israel Discount Bank of New York Decreases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Israel Discount Bank of New York cut its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,918 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. Israel Discount Bank of New York’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Ridge Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $249,000. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 7,213 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $223,000. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,442 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX traded down $2.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $120.37. 1,418,912 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,657,278. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.57. The company has a market capitalization of $86.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.92 and a 52-week high of $133.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.31%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,225 shares in the company, valued at $4,349,313. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Blackstone from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. TheStreet downgraded Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.65.

Blackstone Company 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.