Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Sells 150 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 89,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,701,000 after purchasing an additional 13,360 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 11,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC bought a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth $649,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 12.9% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 23,221 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,051,000 after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 6.6% in the first quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of BX stock traded down $0.32 on Friday, hitting $123.80. The stock had a trading volume of 3,979,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,490,933. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $133.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.42. The company has a market cap of $88.47 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted 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 return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective (down previously from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 219 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $119.48 per share, with a total value of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,115,488.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.