Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,261 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 123.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,453,000 after buying an additional 10,952 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 83.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 4,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 146,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $22,462,000 after buying an additional 10,504 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its stake in Blackstone by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 7,428 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, Single Point Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.5 %

BX stock opened at $176.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $180.59 and its 200 day moving average is $161.95. The stock has a market cap of $127.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued 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 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

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.