Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 76.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,421 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 47,095 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $18,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $316,257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 2,057.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 111.1% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 973,348 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $167,825,000 after acquiring an additional 512,165 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,430,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $248,723,000 after buying an additional 483,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $67,472,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $138.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $167.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.25. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.