Ithaka Group LLC Sells 2,417 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ithaka Group LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,417 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 2.9% of Ithaka Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Ithaka Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $15,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 6.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $140.46 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.06. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $102.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is an increase 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 4.10%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.