Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Has $3.67 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,302 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,434 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $157.27 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.93. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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 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%. As a group, 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 $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.