Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Acquired by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,321 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $15,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,827,437 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,100,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,060 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,197 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Blackstone by 476.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Argus dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. HSBC dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders bought 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

BX opened at $122.63 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $119.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $91.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

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.