Next Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Next Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,960 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $146.11 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one 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. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $164.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.29. The company has a market cap of $106.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.25, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.