Guardian Investment Management Buys Shares of 139,215 Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Guardian Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 139,215 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $24,003,000. Blackstone accounts for about 16.6% of Guardian Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% during 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. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 57.7% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 276 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $125.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.56.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $180.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.49. The company has a market capitalization of $129.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.86, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.53.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone 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.