Aureus Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Aureus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 250,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,310 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 2.5% of Aureus Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $38,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after acquiring an additional 329,379 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 2.3%

Blackstone stock opened at $124.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $120.76 and its 200 day moving average is $130.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the purchase, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Argus decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.86.

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.