Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 92,173 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $15,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $140.46 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $167.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.06. 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 (NYSE:BX) last issued its 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%. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

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.