Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,106 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,401 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sather Financial Group Inc increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $2,102,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $136.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.85. The firm has a market cap of $99.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.60, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year 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.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

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.