Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Takes $345,000 Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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, StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $141.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $102.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $165.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.02.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

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.