Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Position Lowered by WealthPLAN Partners LLC

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,654 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2,188.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Blackstone by 4.8% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,663 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 237,936 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,435,000 after acquiring an additional 9,668 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 898 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Blackstone by 125.0% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,688 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 15,384 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $165.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.