Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 220 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 230,697 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $39,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $158.36 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $114.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $171.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.83. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BX. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company 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.