Blueshift Asset Management LLC Sells 7,427 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 67.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,427 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE BX opened at $148.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $108.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $163.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.04.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

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.