Canal Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Canal Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,716 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 2.6% of Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $16,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 12,192.7% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $908,797,000 after acquiring an additional 7,281,128 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 15,357.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,201,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,433,220,000 after purchasing an additional 4,173,971 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 7.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,285,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,766,875,000 after buying an additional 2,546,886 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 19,048.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,883,409 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $247,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,262,972 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,442,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $170.97 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.59 and a 12 month high of $175.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $122.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $149.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.15.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 121.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.