Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 7,215 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,215 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $54,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 410,326 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $70,748,000 after acquiring an additional 6,640 shares in the last quarter. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $17,818,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $974,448,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 1,352,435 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $233,187,000 after acquiring an additional 17,828 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Down 4.3 %

NYSE:BX opened at $138.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, equities 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 was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

About Blackstone

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.