Ellsworth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ellsworth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 41,484 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 653 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 1.9% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 32.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 57.7% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 276 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Blackstone from $199.00 to $192.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.56.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $180.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $180.73 and a 200-day moving average of $158.49. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.63 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $129.96 billion, a PE ratio of 61.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.