IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Trims Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd trimmed its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,200 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 0.8% of IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,205 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,053,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 260.0% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 8,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 5,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $139,302,000 after acquiring an additional 51,897 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $146.76 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.54. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. 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 company has a market capitalization of $107.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

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.