Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Acquired by First Long Island Investors LLC

First Long Island Investors LLC raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 161,303 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 15,600 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 1.9% of First Long Island Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. First Long Island Investors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $24,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 191,117 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $29,266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,965 shares during the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 5.4% in the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 12.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,148 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $157.63.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $181.36. The company had a trading volume of 2,893,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,417,253. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $160.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.79 and a 52 week high of $184.34.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.21%.

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.