Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Holdings Lowered by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 32.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $176.92 on Monday. 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 price of $180.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.74 billion, a PE ratio of 60.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.