Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Purchases 4,539 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 140,363 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,539 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,071,348,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,394,670,000 after buying an additional 1,494,796 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 31.9% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,803,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $568,902,000 after buying an additional 919,773 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 115.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,088,786 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $162,861,000 after acquiring an additional 583,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,904,030 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,494,000 after purchasing an additional 482,528 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.9%

BX opened at $150.47 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $111.11 billion, a PE ratio of 42.99, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.29. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%.The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $146.92 per share, for a total transaction of $47,602.08. Following the purchase, the director owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,741,192.84. The trade was a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Breyer acquired 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $143.86 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,654.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 68,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,912,817.16. This trade represents a 25.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 797,148 shares of company stock valued at $24,050,153. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Blackstone from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $179.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.25.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.