Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,090 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 8,190 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,837,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,990,238 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $515,577,000 after purchasing an additional 835,170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $154.82.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $133.45. 2,270,363 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,763,535. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business's fifty day moving average is $140.89 and its 200-day moving average is $164.05.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

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.