Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $85.59 Million Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 25.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 499,689 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,212 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Blackstone worth $85,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:BX opened at $110.69 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $105.09 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $82.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.78 and a 200-day moving average of $152.10.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $1.49 dividend. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 153.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Blackstone from $185.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $166.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 1,146,789 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the purchase, the insider owned 16,716,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,297,073.84. The trade was a 7.37% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.