Towne Trust Company N.A Sells 6,420 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Towne Trust Company N.A lessened its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 16.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,180 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,420 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises about 1.2% of Towne Trust Company N.A’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Towne Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 765,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the purchase, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $115.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.