Horizon Investments LLC Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,587 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position 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 buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $146.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.58 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.29. 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 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

About Blackstone

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.