Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,205 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.9 %

BX opened at $152.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.84. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.