OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Cuts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,598 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 693 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for about 1.4% of OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings 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. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Blackstone from $199.00 to $192.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $185.73 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $180.91 and its 200 day moving average is $161.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $134.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.83, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its 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 return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.