Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Main Street Research LLC

Main Street Research LLC lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,301 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BX. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $145.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $169.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

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%. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

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.