Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $66.17 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 383,771 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 8,844 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $66,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $139.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $102.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.06 and a 200 day moving average of $167.67.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company 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.