Moran Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Moran Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 191,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,689 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for 1.1% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $33,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $145.12 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.23. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $105.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, 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.

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, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.