Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,444 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 639 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $2,102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $158.21 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. 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 stock has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $173.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.23.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone 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.