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

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm 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 position. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,169,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $179,089,000 after buying an additional 36,343 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $185.73 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $134.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.53. The business’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 (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BX shares. StockNews.com upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.56.

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.