Hilton Capital Management LLC Sells 6,717 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Hilton Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 6,717 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises approximately 1.1% of Hilton Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen equities 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $136.47 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $99.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.85.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is an increase 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 4.22%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio 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.