Vanguard Group Inc. Has $11.53 Billion Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 889,286 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Blackstone worth $11,533,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in Blackstone by 187.5% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1 %

BX opened at $148.65 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $163.53 and its 200 day moving average is $167.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.43 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Profile

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.