Facet Wealth Inc. Sells 84 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Facet Wealth Inc. lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Facet Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $141.01 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $102.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $165.90 and a 200-day moving average of $167.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.