Moran Wealth Management LLC Sells 4,874 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 186,679 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,874 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 0.9% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $26,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 14,608.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 1.3% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.4%

Blackstone stock opened at $138.30 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.29.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.65.

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.