Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 55,437 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 704,400 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 55,437 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.10% of Blackstone worth $124,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,394,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,796 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 21.2% in the second quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 346,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $58,337,000 after buying an additional 7,053 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 733.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,343,000 after buying an additional 12,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 259.8% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 22,160 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,315,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $129.93 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.01. The firm has a market cap of $95.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.Blackstone’s revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.49 per share. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BX. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Blackstone from $185.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $166.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.82.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. This trade represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 385,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.96 per share, with a total value of $9,999,999.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 16,332,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $424,001,642.68. The trade was a 2.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.