FORA Capital LLC Has $5.48 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

FORA Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 46.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 11,289 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE BX traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $193.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 190,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,413,347. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.76. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.00 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.86, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were given a $0.86 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler downgraded Blackstone from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $149.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.