Callan Capital LLC Sells 404 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Callan Capital LLC cut its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,351 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. Callan Capital LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BX. Redmond Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 24,736 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,265,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Indie Asset Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in Blackstone by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 73,856 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,734,000 after purchasing an additional 5,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $158.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.23. 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 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their price target 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 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.