Busey Bank Has $639,000 Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Busey Bank lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,705 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Busey Bank’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stordahl Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 214.2% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares in the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $974,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,220,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in Blackstone by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 197,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $34,087,000 after purchasing an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $192.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE:BX opened at $177.78 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.84. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.09, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.