Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Holdings Lifted by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,984,892 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 753,766 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up approximately 2.5% of Axiom Investors LLC DE’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.27% of Blackstone worth $342,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $631,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,155,068 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,006,000 after buying an additional 124,462 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 8.7% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 28,505 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,365,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 52.0% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $138.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.72.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone 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 price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

About Blackstone

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.