State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,513 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $45,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $165.09 on Monday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.19 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $176.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.44. 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, 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.