Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Lessened by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,578 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,653,000 after buying an additional 805,604 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,825,000 after buying an additional 512,165 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Blackstone by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $248,723,000 after buying an additional 483,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $67,472,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on 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 %

Shares of BX opened at $138.02 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $100.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid 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 4.17%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.