Covenant Asset Management LLC Sells 904 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Covenant Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,641 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 904 shares during the period. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BX. Sather Financial Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% during the 3rd 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 period. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,205 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $165.09 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $119.19 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48, 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 quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.11.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid 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 3.49%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 94.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. 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 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 data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently 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.