Kercheville Advisors LLC Sells 5,691 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Kercheville Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,160 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,691 shares during the quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Family CFO Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BX shares. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.86.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $120.12 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.86. The firm has a market cap of $89.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 directly owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 9,487,234 shares of company stock valued at $189,789,892. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Company 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.