Cidel Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,491 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 122 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $170.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.82 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.48.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone 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.