Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Major Shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc Sells 7,477,504 Shares of Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $113.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.91. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.79.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $1.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Cornerstone Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $2,508,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 832,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,292,000 after purchasing an additional 98,193 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $92,000. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $927,000. Finally, Farmers National Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $166.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.