Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA cut its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,173 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 560 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.4% during the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 6.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $157.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.01. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $113.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a P/E/G 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.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.