Edgewood Management LLC Has $1.71 Billion Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Edgewood Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,922,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,629,914 shares during the quarter. Blackstone comprises 4.9% of Edgewood Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,710,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in 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 buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $124.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $90.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $156.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.11.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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 4.62%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.06.

Blackstone 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.