Avory & Company LLC Trims Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Avory & Company LLC trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,463 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 0.3% of Avory & Company LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Avory & Company LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its holdings in Blackstone by 202.5% during the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $2,102,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $152.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.80 billion, a PE ratio of 41.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $166.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen raised 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

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.