Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Position Boosted by Abbot Financial Management Inc.

Abbot Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 2.3% of Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank raised 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 acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 5.0 %

NYSE:BX opened at $150.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $170.99 and a 200 day moving average of $166.94. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.49, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

About Blackstone

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.