Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Acquired by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $316,257,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Blackstone by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2,057.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,825,000 after purchasing an additional 512,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $138.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.37. The stock has a market cap of $100.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS 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, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on BX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

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.