Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,996 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,020,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,597,028,000 after acquiring an additional 348,751 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,896,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,272,227,000 after acquiring an additional 336,308 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,931,411 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $602,017,000 after acquiring an additional 61,739 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,430,909 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $525,375,000 after acquiring an additional 116,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,155,068 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $330,006,000 after acquiring an additional 124,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on BX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $158.36 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $171.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $166.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a market cap of $114.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Blackstone Company 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.