Sigma Planning Corp Sells 544 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,155 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 544 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% during the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE BX opened at $158.21 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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. lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.