Howard Capital Management Group LLC Has $40.56 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 290,134 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,085 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up about 3.2% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $40,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 5,129 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Osprey Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 13.3% during the first quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,925 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,086,000 after buying an additional 1,750 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 20,023 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,752 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.5% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 24,593 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,438,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $140.68 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $102.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $136.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.23.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

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.