Accuvest Global Advisors Cuts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Accuvest Global Advisors trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,109 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,010 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises about 5.6% of Accuvest Global Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Accuvest Global Advisors’ holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2,188.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 14.2% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 50.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 144,781 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,170,000 after purchasing an additional 48,601 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BX. UBS Group increased their target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.1 %

BX stock opened at $166.59 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53.

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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. 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.