First Interstate Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

First Interstate Bank raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Blackstone by 72.5% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,597 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after buying an additional 6,553 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 44.2% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,427 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 15.7% in the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,966 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,865 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,728 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BX traded up $0.39 on Friday, hitting $168.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,453,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,430,058. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.15 and a fifty-two week high of $175.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $153.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.17.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BX. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.38.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

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.