Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Increased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 716,319 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 5,951 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $123,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE BX opened at $140.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $102.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.06. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.