Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 92,123 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 402,402 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 92,123 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $62,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC cut their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $156.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $143.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.95.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $121.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $90.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $116.22 and its 200 day moving average is $137.48. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.67%.

Blackstone Company 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.