Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 3,401 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,106 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $136.47 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $166.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.85.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. 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 4.22%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.