Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 968 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,804 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 968 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $138.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.25. The company has a market cap of $100.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 4.17%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

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.