Metis Global Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,027 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone by 0.5% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,926 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.1% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $879,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.63.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.2 %

BX stock opened at $181.21 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.59 and a 12 month high of $184.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.83 billion, a PE ratio of 62.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.86 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.