Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Fiduciary Trust Co

Fiduciary Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,595 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,349 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co's holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 32.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Blackstone by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,926 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.1 %

Blackstone stock traded up $2.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $191.09. 1,460,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,414,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $169.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.86. The company has a market capitalization of $137.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.67, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.77 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 118.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $157.63.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company's stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.