Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Takes $2.16 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,649 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,161,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 30.4% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,347 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,304 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $150.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $111.11 billion, a PE ratio of 42.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.75. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.29. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.02 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $197.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $180.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.25.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 385,208 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.96 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,999.68. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 16,332,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,001,642.68. This trade represents a 2.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.92 per share, for a total transaction of $47,602.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 39,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,741,192.84. This represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 797,148 shares of company stock worth $24,050,153. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Profile

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.