Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Position Lowered by Edgewood Management LLC

Edgewood Management LLC reduced its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,922,675 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,629,914 shares during the period. Blackstone comprises 4.9% of Edgewood Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Edgewood Management LLC owned 1.37% of Blackstone worth $1,710,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 6.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 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, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.06.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $124.68 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. 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.