103,562 Shares in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Purchased by Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP bought a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 103,562 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $17,818,000. Blackstone makes up about 1.5% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.3 %

Blackstone stock opened at $144.81 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.38.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change 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 presently 158.68%.

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.