Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Holdings Trimmed by Cannon Advisors Inc.

Cannon Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,028 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up 3.2% of Cannon Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Cannon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,053,000 after acquiring an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $139,302,000 after purchasing an additional 51,897 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $139.89 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $160.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly 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 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.