King Luther Capital Management Corp Boosts Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 39.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,103 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 3,985 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Blackstone by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 20,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 66,418 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,878 shares during the period. Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $7,016,000. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,705 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 21,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,634,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $140.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.06. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.