Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Position Increased by Citizens & Northern Corp

Citizens & Northern Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,807 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 0.6% of Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 2,188.2% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in Blackstone by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 237,936 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,435,000 after purchasing an additional 9,668 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $227,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $318,000. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $211,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BX shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $165.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.19 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.60. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.77%.

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.