Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Increased by RNC Capital Management LLC

RNC Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 325 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.2% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,994 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.7% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,897,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 5.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 40,876 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,259,000 after buying an additional 2,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Blackstone by 23.2% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,324 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 1,377 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $174.50 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.07 and a 200-day moving average of $163.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.