Optiver Holding B.V. Cuts Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Optiver Holding B.V. lessened its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,990 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,053 shares during the quarter. Optiver Holding B.V.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BX. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $133.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $97.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $140.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.05. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.82.

Blackstone Company 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.