Private Advisor Group LLC Lowers Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 218,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,879 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $37,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sather Financial Group Inc grew its stake in Blackstone by 202.5% during the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $2,102,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $166.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $175.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 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 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a 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.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

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.