Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Decreased by Cryder Capital Partners LLP

Cryder Capital Partners LLP reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 930,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 514,958 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 11.7% of Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $160,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $170.11 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.62. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $122.82 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.