Strs Ohio Cuts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Strs Ohio lessened its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 193,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,458 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $29,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value 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. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,103,660 shares of company stock worth $45,982,920 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Blackstone from $156.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.95.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $126.56 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $115.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 152.43%.

Blackstone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sources say Apollo, Blackstone and KKR are competing to buy Shell’s stake in the massive LNG Canada project — a potential strategic investment for Blackstone that could add scale to its energy/private assets and revenue potential if a deal is reached. Exclusive: Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend coverage highlights an upcoming payout (Simply Wall St/Yahoo piece), which can support investor sentiment for BX by signaling cash return and income potential for shareholders. Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Pays A US$1.16 Dividend In Just Two Days
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-focused coverage of Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call (MSN roundup of top analyst questions) may affect near-term guidance detail and investor expectations but is more informational unless new guidance or revisions emerge. Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call: Our top 5 analyst questions
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 BX shares on May 1 at about $125.79 (≈$3.78M), reducing his stake by ~3.23% — a large, disclosed sale that can be perceived negatively by investors searching for insider conviction. SEC filing: Insider sale SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research moved BX to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), a notable downgrade that can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by momentum/quant strategies. Coverage referenced by Zacks/TickerReport and media roundups. Zacks.com Tickerreport: Zacks downgrade

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.