DE Burlo Group Inc. Grows Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

DE Burlo Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 42.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 137,253 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 40,700 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for about 3.2% of DE Burlo Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. DE Burlo Group Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $974,448,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $316,257,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $239,837,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,990,238 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $515,577,000 after buying an additional 835,170 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $132.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.98. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-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 stock has a market cap of $96.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp raised Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.82.

About Blackstone

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.