Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Acquired by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,213 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,091,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,652,526,000 after buying an additional 14,396,655 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 13.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,825,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,588,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744,652 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Blackstone by 43.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,877,288 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $736,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098,150 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Blackstone by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,106,889 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $654,292,000 after purchasing an additional 92,112 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,246,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $562,058,000 after buying an additional 106,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total transaction of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 393,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,294,783.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total transaction of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at $50,294,783.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $119.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.62, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.79. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.92 and a 1 year high of $133.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.68.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 117.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.65.

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.