LPL Financial LLC Grows Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,067,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 117,354 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Blackstone worth $184,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $148.65 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $163.53 and its 200 day moving average is $167.49. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.13.

About Blackstone

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.