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

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,576 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 1,808 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $316,257,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 111.1% during the 4th 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 raised 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 valued at $248,723,000 after purchasing an additional 483,362 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $152.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.82 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $163.26 and its 200 day moving average is $167.59. The company has a market cap of $110.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.91, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. 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 currently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.13.

Insider Activity

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

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.