Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Purchases New Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,926 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.1% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.2 %

BX opened at $183.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $132.24 billion, a PE ratio of 62.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $157.11 and a 200-day moving average of $138.18. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.93 and a twelve month high of $183.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.63.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.