2,400 Shares in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Acquired by TruNorth Capital Management LLC

TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 2,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $414,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $2,102,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:BX opened at $157.27 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.93. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $113.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.32, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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 issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.