Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Purchases 2,552 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 192,054 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $29,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,563 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after acquiring an additional 3,745 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 127,126 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,467,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 15,294.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 236,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,208,000 after buying an additional 234,917 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 15,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.5% during the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,030 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BX shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE BX traded up $2.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.46. The stock had a trading volume of 619,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,420,789. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.14 and a 1 year high of $175.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $151.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.37. The stock has a market cap of $123.25 billion, a PE ratio of 60.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 121.55%.

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.