EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,576 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,800 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Zevenbergen Capital Investments LLC now owns 16,190 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 22,086 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased 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 $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.91, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.