Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stake Boosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,147,797 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,396 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Blackstone worth $201,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% during 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 lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $146.76 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.43, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $162.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.54.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought 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. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.