Channel Wealth LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Channel Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,480 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 14,608.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $184,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $138.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.33 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed 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 on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Blackstone

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.