Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Invests $472,000 in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,850 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $472,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $157.27 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $113.55 billion, a PE ratio of 43.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.93.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.