Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,837,549 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 143,912 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 1.5% of CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Blackstone worth $841,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 13,701 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Blackstone by 83.2% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 357,336 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $61,480,000 after purchasing an additional 162,247 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $20,543,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $716,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $138.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.55. The firm has a market cap of $100.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

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.