Byrne Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $1,682,000. Blackstone comprises 1.2% of Byrne Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Blackstone by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $170.11 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $122.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.86, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.28. 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 released its 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%. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BX. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.