Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,697 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $39,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BX. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Blackstone Stock Down 1.7 %

BX stock opened at $158.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $171.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $114.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

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.