Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 7,692 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $53,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in Blackstone by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 36,215 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,741,000 after acquiring an additional 9,699 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 367,841 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $48,158,000 after acquiring an additional 28,856 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 20,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Blackstone by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 254,099 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,267,000 after purchasing an additional 20,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 2,072.0% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 36,555 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,802,000 after purchasing an additional 34,872 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $1.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $135.03. 643,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,519,906. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.48, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.50. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $145.16.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,305,632. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Blackstone from $144.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.56.

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.