Aviva PLC Acquires 36,946 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Aviva PLC lifted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,295 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 36,946 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $46,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BX. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in Blackstone by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 11,232 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Blackstone by 29.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 246,998 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $37,823,000 after acquiring an additional 56,559 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 100,664 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $14,224,000 after purchasing an additional 6,202 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 25.3% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,445 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,203,000 after purchasing an additional 5,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of BX opened at $124.68 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut their price target on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.06.

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.