Intellectus Partners LLC Decreases Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Intellectus Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,483 shares during the quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 763.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Family CFO Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $122.49. 2,962,718 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,161,162. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.92 and a 12 month high of $133.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $125.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.49.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 132.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Blackstone from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.65.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $142,102.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 232 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Profile

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.