Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,585 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 7,618 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $12,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 2,057.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $167,825,000 after purchasing an additional 512,165 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $248,723,000 after purchasing an additional 483,362 shares during the period. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $67,472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Remove Ads

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $148.65. The company had a trading volume of 8,381,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,275,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $163.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.08. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone's payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Citigroup reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target 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. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.