Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Makes New $262,000 Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,521 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted 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 acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $144.81 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $161.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.