GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Reduces Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,667 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,109,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $1,747,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 716,319 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $123,508,000 after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $141.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.59. The company has a market cap of $103.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Barclays boosted 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 raised Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.65.

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.