Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Has $515,000 Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,996 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $515,000 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 holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $158.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $114.34 billion, a PE ratio of 43.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $171.49 and a 200-day moving average of $166.83.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on BX shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.