Stephens Inc. AR Has $33.57 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,407 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $33,572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter worth $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $122.73 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $119.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.87. 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 current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $91.17 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related 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 value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.