Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Acquires 3,224 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 304.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,282 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 109.3% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 148,633 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $20,051,000 after buying an additional 77,626 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 5.5% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 770,758 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $107,737,000 after acquiring an additional 39,917 shares in the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $847,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 55.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 51,740 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,232,000 after purchasing an additional 18,396 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock opened at $158.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $117.10 billion, a PE ratio of 45.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $148.70 and a 200-day moving average of $160.30. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%.The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 147.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Blackstone from $197.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.95.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 385,208 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.96 per share, with a total value of $9,999,999.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,332,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,001,642.68. The trade was a 2.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 324 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.92 per share, for a total transaction of $47,602.08. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 39,077 shares in the company, valued at $5,741,192.84. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 797,148 shares of company stock valued at $24,050,153 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.