Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Sold by GFG Capital LLC

GFG Capital LLC lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 3.7% of GFG Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. GFG Capital LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $14,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vicus Capital bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $330,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1,629.2% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 31,472 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,426,000 after buying an additional 29,652 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp increased its position in Blackstone by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 2,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Values Added Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $160.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.14. The firm has a market cap of $115.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.19, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (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, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BX. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.