Private Trust Co. NA Has $1.82 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,988 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE BX traded up $1.57 on Friday, reaching $155.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,048,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,850,287. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $113.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.72, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.65. The stock's 50 day moving average is $140.75 and its 200-day moving average is $151.62.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 112.05%.

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.