Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 7,114 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,098 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,114 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Arrow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $12,327,000. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $103,000. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after purchasing an additional 4,029 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,268,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $123.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.24. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.67%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,487,234 shares of company stock valued at $189,789,892. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86.

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.