Rhumbline Advisers Trims Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,296,997 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 9,373 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.18% of Blackstone worth $223,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% during the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $166.81. 3,162,580 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,299,386. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month 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 business's fifty day moving average is $175.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.95, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped 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. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.38.

About Blackstone

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.