National Pension Service Has $231.87 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

National Pension Service reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,344,801 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 61,782 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.19% of Blackstone worth $231,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $157.22 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $113.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.31, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. 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.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Sell-side 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 issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on BX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

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

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.