Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,782 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 6,408 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for about 2.6% of Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Jacobson & Schmitt Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $13,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Corps Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $862,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its position in Blackstone by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 12,500 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 36,806 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $6,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $248,000. Finally, Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of BX stock traded down $5.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $158.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,575,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,268,361. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.03. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $114.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.