Heritage Wealth Advisors Has $809,000 Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Heritage Wealth Advisors trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,693 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Blackstone were worth $809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 13,924 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after buying an additional 7,544 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $537,000. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 30,535 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 69.6% during the 4th quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 2,968 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:BX opened at $151.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $110.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $162.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.69. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Company 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.