Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is Axiom Investors LLC DE’s 10th Largest Position

Axiom Investors LLC DE increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 61.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,984,892 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 753,766 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up about 2.5% of Axiom Investors LLC DE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $342,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,020,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,597,028,000 after buying an additional 348,751 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,896,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,272,227,000 after purchasing an additional 336,308 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $974,448,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,045,143 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $697,464,000 after acquiring an additional 113,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $138.26 on Monday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $160.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Blackstone 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.