Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $146.25 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 977,766 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 74,276 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $146,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 519,669.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 70,132,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,490,411,000 after purchasing an additional 70,118,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,542,863 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,462,706,000 after acquiring an additional 227,416 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 16.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,292,320 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $739,761,000 after acquiring an additional 742,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,291,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $599,872,000 after purchasing an additional 182,526 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.5%

BX opened at $138.64 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $160.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.84. The company has a market capitalization of $102.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on BX. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 113,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.69, for a total transaction of $19,852,970.00. Following the sale, the director owned 695,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,237,547.33. This represents a 13.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the acquisition, the director owned 39,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,741,192.84. This represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 2,565,543 shares of company stock valued at $69,050,139. 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.