Advisor OS LLC Acquires 205 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $159.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $172.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.07. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BX. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of 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 target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average 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.