Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Makes New $17.82 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 103,562 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $17,818,000. Blackstone makes up about 1.5% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BX. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. TD Cowen raised Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $171.13.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of BX traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $141.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,121,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,438,671. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $160.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 4.06%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

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.