NewEdge Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

NewEdge Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 644,685 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 12,646 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 1.9% of NewEdge Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $111,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $159.26 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. 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 stock has a market cap of $114.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.87, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.19 and its 200-day moving average is $166.07.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.