Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,519 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,235 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $26,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $148.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $108.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

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.