Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,391 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 11,302 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $113.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $131.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization 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. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business 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 payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.86.

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.