Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 21,737 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 46.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,430 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $11,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BX. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 101,984 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $17,584,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in Blackstone by 658.9% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 20,383 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,514,000 after buying an additional 17,697 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 1,696 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Blackstone stock traded down $1.25 on Tuesday, hitting $150.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,078,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,278,089. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.26 and a 200-day moving average of $167.59.

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Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.13.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.