KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 241,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $41,691,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th 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 position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $163.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.08. 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.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by 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.