Northcape Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,221 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,153 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,221 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.1 %

BX stock opened at $166.59 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.89, a PEG ratio of 1.13 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.03.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on 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 reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

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.