QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,080 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 12,360 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $21,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 2,057.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares in the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Blackstone by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 61,905 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,674,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Fjell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,190,000. Finally, Advisor OS LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $159.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $114.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.07. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.