Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by LGT Capital Partners LTD.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 10,500 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises approximately 1.3% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $34,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% during the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 18,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $2,102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $145.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $169.33 and its 200-day moving average is $167.00. The company has a market cap of $105.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company 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.