Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,816 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,974 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $171.13.
Check Out Our Latest Report on BX
Blackstone Trading Up 2.6 %
Shares of BX traded up $3.84 on Monday, hitting $152.13. 3,072,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,279,261. The stock's 50 day moving average is $163.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 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 has a market capitalization of $110.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.
Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.
Blackstone Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 158.68%.
Insider Transactions at Blackstone
In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.
Blackstone Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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