Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Sells 2,954 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,081 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,954 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $13,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $150.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $108.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.49, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.94. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.