Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Lowered by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC lowered its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,580 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 766 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.0% of Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,825,000 after buying an additional 512,165 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $248,723,000 after buying an additional 483,362 shares during the period. Finally, Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $67,472,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

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

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently 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.