Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,804 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 968 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $167,825,000 after purchasing an additional 512,165 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $248,723,000 after purchasing an additional 483,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $67,472,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BX. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired 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 $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of BX opened at $138.02 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $100.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $167.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.25.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

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.