Choreo LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Choreo LLC lowered its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,896 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,566 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $22,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,394,670,000 after buying an additional 1,494,796 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 346,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $58,337,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 733.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 12,069 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 259.8% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 22,160 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,315,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $4,117,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $117.87 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $111.04 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $144.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. Blackstone’s revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $1.49 dividend. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 153.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 1,146,789 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 16,716,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,297,073.84. The trade was a 7.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $179.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.38.

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.