ING Groep NV Sells 3,663 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

ING Groep NV lowered its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,631 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,663 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $158.21 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. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.23. The firm has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.