Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.28 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 18.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,388 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 21.8% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 34,222 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,496,000 after purchasing an additional 6,131 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at about $7,922,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 4.2% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,294 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE BX opened at $181.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $159.65 and a 200-day moving average of $139.31. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $102.59 and a 1-year high of $184.34. The firm has a market cap of $130.83 billion, a PE ratio of 62.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.63.

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.