Savant Capital LLC Sells 2,041 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Savant Capital LLC reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,448 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 2,041 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $164.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $118.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $177.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.00. 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 issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 94.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BX shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

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.