Blankinship & Foster LLC Buys New Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,669 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in 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 during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $145.12 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $104.78 billion, a PE ratio of 39.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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 3.97%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on BX. 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. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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