Cibc World Markets Corp Sells 25,355 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Cibc World Markets Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 25,355 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $19,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 55.8% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 5.0% in the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 6,095 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Planning Directions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,951,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Up 4.8 %

NYSE:BX opened at $147.67 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.26. The stock has a market cap of $107.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.