Moment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,192 Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Moment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,192 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,053,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $139,302,000 after acquiring an additional 51,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 716,319 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $123,508,000 after purchasing an additional 5,951 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $144.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.89, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on BX shares. 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 research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.