NEOS Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 9,954 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $7,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank boosted 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 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 worth $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $144.81 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $105.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.69 and a 200 day moving average of $167.38. 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 (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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 3.98%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BX. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired 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. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.