Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Cannell & Spears LLC

Cannell & Spears LLC trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,334 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,093 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $139.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $160.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

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.