Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,553 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 594 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone by 32.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $168.52 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.80. 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 company has a market cap of $121.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.