Stiles Financial Services Inc Lowers Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Stiles Financial Services Inc cut its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,681 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 952 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 202.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares in the last quarter. 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 research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $170.11 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.36 and a 200-day moving average of $163.62. 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 has a market cap of $122.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 94.77%.

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.