Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 453 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $68,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Family CFO Inc bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $154.55 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $113.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.16, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $170.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.71%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total transaction of $8,829,594.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 737,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 113,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.69, for a total transaction of $19,852,970.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 695,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,237,547.33. This trade represents a 13.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 2,538,345 shares of company stock worth $65,046,628 and have sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $178.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.26.

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.