Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Position Lowered by Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.

Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 403 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for approximately 11.4% of Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock opened at $145.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.00. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $105.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Blackstone 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.