Parallel Advisors LLC Raises Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,269 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BX. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 844,755 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $145,653,000 after purchasing an additional 805,604 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Blackstone by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $248,723,000 after acquiring an additional 483,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,472,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Trading Up 4.8 %

NYSE:BX opened at $147.67 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $165.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.26.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

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.