Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Sells 101 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,672 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Blackstone by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,355,000 after acquiring an additional 3,271 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Blackstone by 27.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 17,438 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,670,000 after buying an additional 3,762 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $68,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BX. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $145.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $169.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.69. The stock has a market cap of $105.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts predict 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 issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 3.95%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.