Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Lowers Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 380,927 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,534 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Blackstone worth $65,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vicus Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $330,000. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1,629.2% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 31,472 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 29,652 shares during the last quarter. First Merchants Corp lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 2,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Values Added Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $205,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $160.40 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $177.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $115.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.19, a PEG ratio of 1.13 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.