Gridiron Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Gridiron Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 97.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 180,291 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 0.4% of Gridiron Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Gridiron Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,827,437 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,100,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,060 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,358,334,000 after purchasing an additional 412,281 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after purchasing an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,071,348,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Blackstone by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,677,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $799,236,000 after buying an additional 145,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $110.40 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $130.16 and a 200-day moving average of $148.34.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.49 per share. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 153.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $185.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $158.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $179.00 price objective for the company. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target on Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Blackstone

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.