Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Trims Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA cut its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,039 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at $38,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of BX opened at $151.29 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.66 and a 200 day moving average of $152.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.57, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of Blackstone 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.