Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Alterity Financial Group LLC

Alterity Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises approximately 1.3% of Alterity Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Alterity Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 34.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 8,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after acquiring an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 10.4% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 18,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 12.8% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 38,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,878,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on BX shares. Bank of America raised their target price on Blackstone from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. TheStreet lowered shares of Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Oppenheimer cut Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $120.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.53.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,349,313. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,349,313. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $131.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.29 and a 12 month high of $133.56. The company has a market cap of $93.89 billion, a PE ratio of 71.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The asset manager reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.48 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 17.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.92 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 205.46%.

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.