APG Asset Management N.V. Makes New Investment in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 393,900 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $65,588,000. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.05% of Blackstone as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 60,243 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,387,000 after acquiring an additional 12,677 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Shelton Capital Management grew its position in Blackstone by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 7,707 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 24,343 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,197,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,987,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,032,400,000 after acquiring an additional 371,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE BX traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $127.19. The stock had a trading volume of 7,805,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,690,525. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $92.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $149.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.63. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

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Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone's payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. JMP Securities raised shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $157.22.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.