Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 235,998 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,052 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $40,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Sather Financial Group Inc boosted its position in Blackstone by 202.5% during the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $2,102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BX opened at $145.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.00. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $104.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.