State of Wisconsin Investment Board Reduces Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

State of Wisconsin Investment Board decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 381,906 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 46,282 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned about 0.05% of Blackstone worth $58,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.86.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone acquired 9,486,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE BX opened at $127.89 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.70. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.67%.

Blackstone Profile

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.