Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC Cuts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Marble Harbor Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $145.12 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.76. The company has a market capitalization of $104.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.98, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, equities research 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 3.97%. 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 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought 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 approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.