Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 25,000 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,600 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BX. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $183.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Blackstone from $176.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $171.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.68.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 384,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.01 per share, with a total value of $10,000,012.68. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 16,525,117 shares in the company, valued at $429,818,293.17. The trade was a 2.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. The trade was a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $133.60 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $98.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $151.00 and a 200-day moving average of $158.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.69 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $1.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Blackstone Company 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.