Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 137,287 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,748 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises about 2.0% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.9 %

Blackstone stock opened at $136.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $99.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.85. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

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.