Blueshift Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sather Financial Group Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at about $201,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,692 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,951,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $191.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $138.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $167.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $105.51 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.63.

Blackstone 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.