Ellis Investment Partners LLC Sells 423 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,422 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 423 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up about 1.8% of Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $9,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $165.09 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. 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.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 94.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities 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, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.