Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 144.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,615 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,645 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2,188.2% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 1,116 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 237,936 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,435,000 after buying an additional 9,668 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 4,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of BX opened at $165.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.60. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Company 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.