Union Savings Bank Trims Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Union Savings Bank reduced its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the quarter. Union Savings Bank’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 763.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Argus upped their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 219 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $126.70. 2,610,764 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,650,368. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.65. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.06 and a 1 year high of $133.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.31%.

About Blackstone

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.