Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 6,640 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 410,326 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 6,640 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $70,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $144.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.82 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.38.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

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.