Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Buys 1,259 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $138.26 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.55. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $100.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

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.