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

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 112,961 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $19,477,000. Blackstone accounts for approximately 0.6% of Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 36,461 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 9,375 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 18,036 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisory Group bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $275,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE:BX opened at $165.09 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-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. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.28.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 94.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on 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.