Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 112,961 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $19,477,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $170.11 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.78 and a 200 day moving average of $163.28. 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 twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $122.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.86, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.