Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 70.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,730 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,043 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Investors Research Corp acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.6%

BX stock opened at $157.76 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $149.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $116.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director James Breyer purchased 13,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $143.86 per share, with a total value of $1,999,654.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 68,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,912,817.16. The trade was a 25.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 797,148 shares of company stock valued at $24,050,153 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Blackstone from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.89.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.