Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $58.05 Million Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,779 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,594 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $58,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, 1248 Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $158.58 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $117.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.43%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director James Breyer purchased 13,900 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $143.86 per share, for a total transaction of $1,999,654.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 68,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,912,817.16. This trade represents a 25.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.92 per share, for a total transaction of $47,602.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,741,192.84. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 797,148 shares of company stock valued at $24,050,153. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on BX shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $197.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.95.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.