DnB Asset Management AS Boosts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 263,927 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,445 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $45,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.3 %

BX opened at $144.81 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $105.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $161.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.38.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BX. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

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.