Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% during the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $2,102,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $158.21 on Monday. 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 current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a PE ratio of 43.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.