Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. cut its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,612 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises 2.1% of Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,117 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 15,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,169,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $179,089,000 after acquiring an additional 36,343 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $147.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $107.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.35 and a 200-day moving average of $167.26.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

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.