Capital Investment Counsel Inc Invests $230,000 in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc purchased a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter worth $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone 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 sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.9 %

BX opened at $166.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $119.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.98, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $88.59 and a one year high of $175.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.15.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th will be given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 121.55%.

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.