Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by First Financial Bankshares Inc

First Financial Bankshares Inc lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 726,657 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,756 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 2.7% of First Financial Bankshares Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $125,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.1 %

Blackstone stock opened at $146.11 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.29. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $106.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.