CenterBook Partners LP Cuts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

CenterBook Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,316 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,374 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. von Borstel & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.18.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of BX opened at $161.63 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.