Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,765 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for approximately 1.1% of Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $414,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $510,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $3,052,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 190.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,181 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 4,708 shares during the period. Finally, J. W. Coons Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $416,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $157.22 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.12. 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 firm has a market cap of $113.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.31, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

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.