Allianz SE Buys New Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,650 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $631,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,155,068 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $330,006,000 after purchasing an additional 124,462 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 8.7% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 18,367 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 28,505 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,365,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $138.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. 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 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Thursday, March 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.