Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,757 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,983 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director now 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $147.80 on Thursday. 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 $107.81 billion, a PE ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $158.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.47.

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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend 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.