Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Sells 3,006 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 101,018 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,006 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 2.8% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $14,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BX. UBS Group dropped their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $140.42 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $102.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $135.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.65.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued 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 yield of 2.65%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares in the company, valued at $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.