Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Has $4.25 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 17,884 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,084,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 11,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 15,462 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $176.92 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $180.15 and its 200-day moving average is $162.43. The company has a market capitalization of $127.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.80, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BX. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

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.