Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Lessened by Brave Asset Management Inc.

Brave Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,433 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises about 0.5% of Brave Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Brave Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.2% in the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 87,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,862 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 7.0% in the third quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 121,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,002,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the period. Kampmann Melissa S. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at $2,314,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1,722.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 504,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,046,000 after acquiring an additional 476,768 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 536.5% during the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 11,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total value of $6,268,570.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at $50,294,783.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE BX traded up $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $131.38. 3,132,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,809,886. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.29 and a twelve month high of $133.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The asset manager reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 17.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 205.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.53.

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.