Essex Financial Services Inc. Raises Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 594 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,045 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 5,570 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 21,053 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,630,000 after acquiring an additional 6,707 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 4,378 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,157 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,131,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:BX opened at $168.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $121.67 billion, a PE ratio of 46.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $178.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.80. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 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%. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

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.