Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $33.03 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Moran Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,689 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.1% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $33,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 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 buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $145.12 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $169.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.23. The stock has a market cap of $105.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

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.