Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Decreased by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 388,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,012 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $59,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $191.09 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.77 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.09. The firm has a market cap of $137.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.