Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Has $3.24 Million Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,815 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 509 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Blackstone Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE BX opened at $164.80 on Wednesday. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.98 billion, a PE ratio of 45.40, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $177.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.00.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.