Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Holdings Decreased by Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC decreased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,270 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $158.21 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $173.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.23. The stock has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53. 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 (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly 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%. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.