Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & 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 owned about 0.10% of Blackstone worth $123,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $140.46 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $167.34 and a 200-day moving average of $167.06.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results 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, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BX. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

About Blackstone

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.