NewEdge Advisors LLC Acquires 13,131 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,253 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 13,131 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $14,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at about $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $316,257,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,990,238 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $515,577,000 after acquiring an additional 835,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2,057.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE:BX opened at $129.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $146.58 and its 200 day moving average is $165.07. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. 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. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JMP Securities raised Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.72.

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.