Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,542 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $45,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in Blackstone by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 5,187 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $894,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. LMG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,488 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,636,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $862,000. Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its holdings in Blackstone by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 12,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 36,806 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $166.81 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.71 and a 200-day moving average of $165.04. The company has a market capitalization of $120.44 billion, a PE ratio of 45.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

About Blackstone

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.