Virtu Financial LLC Reduces Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Virtu Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 78.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,313 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 26,402 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 2.4% during the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings 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 holdings in Blackstone by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BX opened at $148.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.53 and a 200-day moving average of $167.49. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. 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 (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

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.