First National Trust Co Lowers Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

First National Trust Co reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,485 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 218,645 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,709,000 after purchasing an additional 16,170 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 35,096 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,042 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 154,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $20,314,000 after acquiring an additional 7,915 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 12.0% during the first quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 10,658 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 100.8% in the first quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.63.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:BX opened at $180.78 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.93 and a 52 week high of $183.96. 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 company has a market cap of $130.52 billion, a PE ratio of 62.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $157.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.60.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.21%.

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.