IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Sells 7,200 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd decreased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises 0.8% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $146.76 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

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 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 predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company 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 boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.