Focus Financial Network Inc. Buys 257 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,570 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price target on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $160.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $116.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.33, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $177.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.16.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 94.77%.

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.