Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 88.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,530 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,877 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,394,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,796 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,542,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,462,706,000 after purchasing an additional 227,416 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,071,348,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Blackstone by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,532,941 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $678,037,000 after buying an additional 202,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,200,194 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $628,265,000 after acquiring an additional 37,327 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $129.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $95.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.44, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $190.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $151.92 and a 200 day moving average of $159.57.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a dividend of $1.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 132.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Evercore decreased their price target on Blackstone from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, HSBC lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.77.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,610. The trade was a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the acquisition, the director owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,741,192.84. The trade was a 0.84% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 770,078 shares of company stock valued at $20,058,800. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.