Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Position Lowered by Marietta Wealth Management LLC

Marietta Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,183 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,962 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up 1.3% of Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 32.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their target price on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of BX opened at $176.92 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $162.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.21%.

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.