Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV decreased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,336 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $183.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $132.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $157.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.18. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.93 and a 1-year high of $183.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.21%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.63.

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.