First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 8,756 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

First Financial Bankshares Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 726,657 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,756 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 2.7% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. First Financial Bankshares Inc owned approximately 0.10% of Blackstone worth $125,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,169,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $179,089,000 after buying an additional 36,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Blackstone by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,053,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BX shares. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:BX opened at $146.11 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $164.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 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%. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. 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.