Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Acquires 4,117 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,963 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,117 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,020,426 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,597,028,000 after buying an additional 348,751 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,896,413 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,272,227,000 after purchasing an additional 336,308 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,045,143 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $697,464,000 after buying an additional 113,732 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 3.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,430,909 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $525,375,000 after buying an additional 116,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,155,068 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $330,006,000 after acquiring an additional 124,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BX. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $4.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.76. 3,522,506 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,285,574. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.05 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company's 50 day moving average is $162.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.69.

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 net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, sell-side 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 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 dividend yield of 3.92%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

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.