Norden Group LLC Sells 723 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Norden Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,683 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 723 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Blackstone by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 303,069 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,348,000 after buying an additional 15,875 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,734,000. Kampmann Melissa S. bought a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $2,314,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $855,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Blackstone by 1,722.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 504,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,046,000 after purchasing an additional 476,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BX. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (down from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.65.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the business’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 owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Reginald J. Brown purchased 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $125.62 per share, for a total transaction of $301,488.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 16,949 shares in the company, valued at $2,129,133.38. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $117.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $83.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.92 and a twelve month high of $133.56. 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 fifty day moving average is $125.45 and its 200-day moving average is $118.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.