Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 4,117 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,963 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1 %

Blackstone stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $163.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

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.