Ellerson Group Inc. ADV Sells 318 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ellerson Group Inc. ADV lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,224 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 2.2% of Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 763.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $142,102.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 232 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares in the company, valued at $4,349,313. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $117.99. 4,437,459 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,497,968. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $125.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $79.92 and a 12-month high of $133.56. The company has a market cap of $84.32 billion, a PE ratio of 41.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet lowered Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.65.

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.