Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 23,000 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lessened its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 377,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 23,000 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.05% of Blackstone worth $57,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE BX traded down $2.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $189.02. 2,361,480 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,423,179. The company's 50-day moving average is $168.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.07. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $106.00 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $136.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 118.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BX. Barclays upped their price target 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. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Blackstone from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $149.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $157.63.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone 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.