Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $15.74 Million Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,819 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,950 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $15,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $142.00. 3,262,890 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,826,148. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.59 and a 52 week high of $145.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $101.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.99.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total transaction of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 219 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone 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.