16-03-2025
Insiders At Blackstone Sold US$14m In Stock, Alluding To Potential Weakness
Many Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) insiders ditched their stock over the past year, which may be of interest to the company's shareholders. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, if numerous insiders are selling, shareholders should investigate more.
Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.
See our latest analysis for Blackstone
Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Legal Officer, John Finley, for US$7.4m worth of shares, at about US$176 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. It's of some comfort that this sale was conducted at a price well above the current share price, which is US$141. So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.
Over the last year we saw more insider selling of Blackstone shares, than buying. The sellers received a price of around US$154, on average. We don't gain confidence from insider selling near the recent share price. But we don't put too much weight on the insider selling, since sellers could have personal reasons. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
For those who like to find hidden gems this free list of small cap companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.
Over the last quarter, Blackstone insiders have spent a meaningful amount on shares. insider Ruth Porat spent US$62k on stock, and there wasn't any selling. This makes one think the business has some good points.
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Blackstone insiders own about US$499m worth of shares (which is 0.3% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.
It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. But we can't say the same for the transactions over the last 12 months. The high levels of insider ownership, and the recent buying by an insider suggests they are well aligned and optimistic. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Blackstone (1 is a bit concerning) you should be aware of.
If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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