United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Raises Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 220,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,487 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for approximately 1.5% of United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $37,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $151.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $110.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. Equities 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 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

About Blackstone

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.