Ethic Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 71.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,560 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 25,239 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BX. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,109,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,845,000 after buying an additional 15,205 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Blackstone by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,053,000 after buying an additional 4,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after buying an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE BX traded down $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $139.41. 3,113,790 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,765,155. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $136.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.18. 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 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $101.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citizens Jmp upgraded Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This trade represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 1,660,538 shares of company stock worth $24,981,930. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.