Schroder Investment Management Group Has $61.48 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 83.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,336 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,247 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $61,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Blackstone by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 270,700 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $41,452,000 after acquiring an additional 60,700 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 2.6% in the third quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,173 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Bamco Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 769,894 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $117,894,000 after buying an additional 79,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 268.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 17,463 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,674,000 after acquiring an additional 12,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $139.89 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.06 and a 200-day moving average of $167.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $102.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

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, 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

About Blackstone

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.