Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by South Street Advisors LLC

South Street Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,816 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 2.8% of South Street Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. South Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $18,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 214.2% during the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 3.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,169,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $179,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

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

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $147.67 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $165.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.26. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $107.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

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.