Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 7,516 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 320,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 7,516 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $55,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $316,257,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2,057.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $145,653,000 after acquiring an additional 805,604 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $167,825,000 after purchasing an additional 512,165 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 51.0% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $151.29 on Wednesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.90 and a 200 day moving average of $167.69. The company has a market capitalization of $110.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its 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 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 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 given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on BX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

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.