Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,225 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,535 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 0.7% of Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $2,102,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $163.83 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $174.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

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.