Blackstone Inc. decreased its holdings in Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE:WES – Get Rating) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,217,668 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 3,336,553 shares during the period. Western Midstream Partners makes up approximately 1.0% of Blackstone Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Blackstone Inc. owned about 4.02% of Western Midstream Partners worth $409,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WES. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,185,839 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $338,188,000 after buying an additional 1,664,230 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,407,281 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $164,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,820,959 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,592,191 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $141,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,529 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Midstream Partners by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,012,565 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $126,417,000 after purchasing an additional 623,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Western Midstream Partners by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,318,993 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $83,705,000 after buying an additional 197,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WES has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Midstream Partners from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Western Midstream Partners in a research report on Monday, August 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Western Midstream Partners from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Midstream Partners currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Western Midstream Partners Stock Performance

Western Midstream Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 29th. Western Midstream Partners's payout ratio is currently 74.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert W. Bourne acquired 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.90 per share, with a total value of $57,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 34,400 shares in the company, valued at $787,760. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 10,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.25, for a total value of $252,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 190,281,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,804,609,844.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert W. Bourne acquired 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.90 per share, with a total value of $57,250.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $787,760. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

About Western Midstream Partners

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Western Midstream Partners, LP, a midstream energy company, together with its subsidiaries, acquires, owns, develops, and operates primarily in the United States. It is involved in gathering, compressing, treating, processing, and transporting natural gas; gathering, stabilizing, and transporting condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and crude oil; and gathering and disposing produced water.

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