Sigma Planning Corp Has $946,000 Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 64.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,225 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 13,385 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $946,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 763.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 232 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,349,313. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $124.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $88.77 billion, a PE ratio of 43.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.92 and a 52 week high of $133.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $118.20.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 132.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on BX shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down previously from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.94.

About Blackstone

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.