Sfmg LLC Has $1.88 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sfmg LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,901 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2,057.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,825,000 after purchasing an additional 512,165 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Blackstone by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $248,723,000 after purchasing an additional 483,362 shares during the period. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $67,472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised 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 report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $148.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $163.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.08. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Blackstone

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.