Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,127 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 134 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.6 %

BX stock opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $163.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $110.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.91, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Blackstone 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.