Ellis Investment Partners LLC Has $9.38 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 423 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises 1.8% of Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $165.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $176.09 and its 200-day moving average is $164.28.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.77%.

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.