SMART Wealth LLC Acquires 2,896 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

SMART Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 206.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,296 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,896 shares during the quarter. SMART Wealth LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $168.52. 2,333,438 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,115,852. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $178.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.80. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $121.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.38.

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.