Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Has $12.01 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,667 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,536 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 11,232 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,720,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 29.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 246,998 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,823,000 after purchasing an additional 56,559 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,445 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,203,000 after buying an additional 5,536 shares during the period. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 3.6% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,456 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,357,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $124.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $90.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.20. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.24 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.06.

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.