Bridges Investment Management Inc. Takes $215,000 Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,248 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,653,000 after buying an additional 805,604 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,825,000 after buying an additional 512,165 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $67,472,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,020,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,597,028,000 after buying an additional 348,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,896,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,272,227,000 after buying an additional 336,308 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.7 %

Blackstone stock opened at $158.36 on Tuesday. 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 50 day moving average price of $171.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.83. The firm has a market cap of $114.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

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.