Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,480 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 60.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,599 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 2,480 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 214.2% in the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,205 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Blackstone by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,053,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 260.0% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 8,305 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 5,998 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Blackstone by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $139,302,000 after acquiring an additional 51,897 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $151.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,782,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,284,055. The firm's fifty day moving average is $162.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $110.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.