Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,954 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% in the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 2.4% during the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $142.77 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $104.14 billion, a PE ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.28 and a 200-day moving average of $167.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 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, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.