Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 7,716 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,219 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,716 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $61,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 6.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McAdam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 6.3 %

BX stock opened at $124.68 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.20. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.24 and a 1-year high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. 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 (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BX. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.06.

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.