Blackstone Inc. shares rose 3.4% in pre-market trades on Thursday after the private-equity firm said its third-quarter net income rose to $1.4 billion, or $1.94 a share, from $794.7 million, or $1.13 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Distributable earnings increased to $1.64 billion, or $1.28 a share, from $772.1 million, or 63 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected Blackstone to earn 89 cents a share, according to a survey by FactSet. Total assets under management rose 25% to $730.7 billion. Blackstone will pay a $1.09 a share dividend, double from 54 cents a share a year ago. Prior to Thursday’s gains, Blackstone shares are up 98.6% so far this year, outpacing a gain of 20.8% by the S&P 500.
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