Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Has $298,000 Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lowered its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 67.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,730 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,518 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $147.80 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $107.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $158.58 and a 200-day moving average of $167.47.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.