Brown Financial Advisors Decreases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Brown Financial Advisors cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,454 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 926 shares during the period. Brown Financial Advisors’ holdings in Blackstone were worth $423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sather Financial Group Inc increased its stake in Blackstone by 202.5% in the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $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 worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $2,102,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.7 %

BX stock opened at $157.27 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $113.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $172.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.93.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.