Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE BX opened at $164.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $177.99 and its 200 day moving average is $164.00. 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 market capitalization of $118.98 billion, a PE ratio of 45.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.