Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,922 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $139.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.54, 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. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

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.