Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Boosted by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,378 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of BX opened at $164.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.98 billion, a PE ratio of 45.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.00.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

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.