Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Buys 74 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,110 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 2,057.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 111.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Blackstone by 51.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $67,472,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $145.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.23. The company has a market cap of $105.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.