White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,586 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for approximately 2.1% of White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 17,250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $750,000. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in Blackstone by 1,059.6% during the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,693 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 16.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 19.2% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,302 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler downgraded Blackstone from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following 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 Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $191.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $137.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.77 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $169.29 and a 200 day moving average of $144.86.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.21%.

About Blackstone

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.