Avory & Company LLC Sells 430 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Avory & Company LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,463 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises approximately 0.3% of Avory & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $152.08 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.84. 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 stock has a market cap of $109.80 billion, a PE ratio of 41.90, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BX. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.