Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Wealthspire Advisors LLC

Wealthspire Advisors LLC reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,744 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,286 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $158.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.74. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone 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.