Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by MWA Asset Management

MWA Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,088 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 1.8% of MWA Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 19,084 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 30,770 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,305,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $10,047,000. Finally, SMART Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 206.9% during the 4th quarter. SMART Wealth LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BX. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $170.11 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 capitalization of $122.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.28.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.77%.

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.