White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $2.04 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 17,369 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,044,000. Blackstone makes up about 1.4% of White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $605,267,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at $170,630,000. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $277,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $372,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth approximately $8,667,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:BX opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.20 and a 200 day moving average of $122.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Blackstone 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.