Dudley Capital Management LLC Sells 579 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Dudley Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 579 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 2.1% of Dudley Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Dudley Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,257,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $167,825,000 after purchasing an additional 512,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 51.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

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.