Plancorp LLC Raises Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Plancorp LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Bangor Savings Bank grew 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 buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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%. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.