Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 3,322 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,560 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $167,825,000 after buying an additional 512,165 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $248,723,000 after acquiring an additional 483,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BX. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $172.38.

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Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $138.02 on Wednesday. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $167.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.25. The stock has a market cap of $100.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Company 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.

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