Signaturefd LLC Has $2.64 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,283 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th 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 period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 4.8 %

Shares of BX opened at $147.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $107.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS 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%. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is a positive change 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 Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.