Vestcor Inc Sells 8,255 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Vestcor Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,840 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 8,255 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $30,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $179.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Blackstone from $185.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 1,146,789 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 16,716,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,297,073.84. The trade was a 7.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $110.69 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.09 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.10. The firm has a market cap of $82.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.80.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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 Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.49 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 153.61%.

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.