Samalin Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Samalin Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,253 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $148.65 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.28.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BX. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

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.