Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys New Shares in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 112,961 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $19,477,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 15,357.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,201,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,433,220,000 after buying an additional 4,173,971 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $167,825,000 after acquiring an additional 512,165 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,472,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,020,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,597,028,000 after purchasing an additional 348,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,896,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,272,227,000 after buying an additional 336,308 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $170.11 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $122.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $178.78 and its 200 day moving average is $163.28.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 94.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 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.