Marshall Wace LLP Buys New Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 75,171 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $12,961,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $130.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.95.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on BX shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.72.

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.