Strs Ohio Sells 9,797 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Strs Ohio trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 183,287 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,797 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $21,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Family CFO Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $122.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.02. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The firm has a market cap of $91.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 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 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Argus reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.36.

Blackstone 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.