Candriam S.C.A. Sells 297 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,711 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 297 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 18,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,102,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $145.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $104.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BX. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.