Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,827,437 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,335,060 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.61% of Blackstone worth $12,100,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $35,000. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $129.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $150.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.89. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 385,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.96 per share, with a total value of $9,999,999.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 16,332,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,001,642.68. This trade represents a 2.42% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,610. This trade represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $185.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $164.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.82.

About Blackstone

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.