Madison Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,731 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.28. The stock has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

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.