Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $54.51 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 316,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,215 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $54,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $138.26 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $160.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

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.