Viawealth LLC Cuts Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Viawealth LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,685 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Blackstone Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of BX opened at $149.69 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.24, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.16.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.