Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. decreased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 106,067 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 3,719 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $18,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $159.26 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.19 and its 200 day moving average is $166.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BX. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.