Ieq Capital LLC Sells 9,392 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 236,421 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,392 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $40,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $5.86 on Friday, hitting $158.04. The company had a trading volume of 2,474,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,261,204. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $174.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

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.