Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is Beta Wealth Group Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

Beta Wealth Group Inc. lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,148 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,889 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 3.1% of Beta Wealth Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Beta Wealth Group Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th 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 purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX traded down $5.69 on Friday, hitting $158.21. 4,662,276 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,336,160. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $173.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone's payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.