Sentry Investment Management LLC Invests $510,000 in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,956 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BX. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its stake in Blackstone by 202.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $157.27 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $172.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.93. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.55 billion, a PE ratio of 43.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone 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.