Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. Sells 483 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 483 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 1.1% of Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BX. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,020,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,597,028,000 after purchasing an additional 348,751 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,896,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,272,227,000 after buying an additional 336,308 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 15,357.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,201,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,433,220,000 after acquiring an additional 4,173,971 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,931,411 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $602,017,000 after purchasing an additional 61,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 3.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,430,909 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $525,375,000 after purchasing an additional 116,367 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $160.90 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $177.07 and a 200 day moving average of $164.14. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.17 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.