Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 39,542 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 266,414 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 39,542 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Blackstone were worth $45,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE:BX traded down $5.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.21. 4,662,276 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,336,160. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.58, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.03.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased 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. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.