Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Bought by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 267,295 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 36,946 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $46,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 11,232 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,720,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Blackstone by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 246,998 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $37,823,000 after acquiring an additional 56,559 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 100,664 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,224,000 after purchasing an additional 6,202 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 25.3% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,445 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,203,000 after purchasing an additional 5,536 shares during the period. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.06.

Blackstone Stock Performance

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

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly 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%. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.