Corebridge Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,351 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 1,090 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $32,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at $66,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $631,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,408 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,238,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $148.65 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.49. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased 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. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.