Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Position Reduced by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,580 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 766 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises about 1.0% of Ballast Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.7 %

BX stock opened at $148.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $108.48 billion, a PE ratio of 40.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.04.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.44 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

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.