Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Gables Capital Management Inc.

Gables Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $139.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $101.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.26.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Insider Activity

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