Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 62.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,270 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,534 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $21,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Blackstone Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE:BX traded up $4.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.02. 2,250,370 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,336,812. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.02. The company has a market capitalization of $79.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.79.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 153.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 1,146,789 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 16,716,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $437,297,073.84. This represents a 7.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $179.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.86.

About Blackstone

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.