Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Cuts Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 651,992 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 56,987 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $100,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $122.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $119.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

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.