United Bank Has $1.46 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

United Bank cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,532 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 45.2% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in Blackstone by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 147,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,390,000 after buying an additional 17,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in Blackstone by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 5,186 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $177.51 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.15 and a 1 year high of $178.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.00, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.38.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

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.