Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Somerset Group LLC

Somerset Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,758 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises about 3.6% of Somerset Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Somerset Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 58.1% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 8.7% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,676 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Blackstone by 22.2% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 17,238 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,640,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $631,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.08. The company has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Blackstone 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.