Ellerson Group Inc. ADV Lowers Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ellerson Group Inc. ADV lessened its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 169 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up 2.3% of Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $145.12 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $169.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.00. The company has a market capitalization of $105.86 billion, a PE ratio of 39.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. As a group, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.