Tranquility Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Tranquility Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,752 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,288 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 4.8% of Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $160.90 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $177.56 and its 200 day moving average is $164.16. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.17 billion, a PE ratio of 44.33, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 94.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

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.