Triangle Securities Wealth Management Sells 1,202 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management lowered its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,416 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,202 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.7% of Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bremer Bank National Association grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Bremer Bank National Association now owns 45,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,591 shares during the period. CGN Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 25.2% during the first quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 16,409 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,294,000 after buying an additional 3,303 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 16,581.3% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 10,676 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 10,612 shares during the period. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 14,541 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 37,337 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,219,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $139.02 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $101.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $135.55 and its 200 day moving average is $158.41.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.