Kerusso Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,478 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 2.1% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 12,192.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $908,797,000 after purchasing an additional 7,281,128 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 15,357.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,201,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,433,220,000 after buying an additional 4,173,971 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 36,285,872 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,766,875,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546,886 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 19,048.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,883,409 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $247,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,262,972 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,442,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290,324 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America increased their target price on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE BX traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $177.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,768,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,431,577. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.15 and a 52-week high of $178.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.98.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.21%.

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.