Northeast Investment Management Sells 10,843 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Northeast Investment Management decreased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,471 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,843 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 1.4% of Northeast Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $35,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone by 2.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,394,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,796 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after buying an additional 3,281 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 346,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $58,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 733.2% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,343,000 after purchasing an additional 12,069 shares during the period. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 259.8% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 22,160 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,315,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,610. The trade was a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 385,208 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.96 per share, with a total value of $9,999,999.68. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 16,332,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $424,001,642.68. This represents a 2.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BX shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Barclays cut their target price on Blackstone from $171.00 to $164.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.76.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $131.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.31. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $97.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $1.49 dividend. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.