Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,778 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $14,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sather Financial Group Inc grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,692 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.63.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $199.05 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.71 billion, a PE ratio of 68.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.51 and a twelve month high of $199.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $165.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company 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.