Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Holdings Decreased by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE decreased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,390 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,825 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,091,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,652,526,000 after purchasing an additional 14,396,655 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $708,859,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 13,816.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,623,868 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,744,370,000 after acquiring an additional 3,597,828 shares during the last quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,514,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,738,986 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,417,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367,581 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $122.00 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $133.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.19 billion, a PE ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 117.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BX. Bank of America dropped their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $125.00 price objective (down from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 219 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,445 shares in the company, valued at $4,115,488.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.