New York Life Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

New York Life Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,864 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 9,818 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $16,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Blackstone by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 61,905 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $1,190,000. Advisor OS LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 41,171 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,099,000 after buying an additional 21,831 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $159.26 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.07. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 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.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.