Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS Acquires 2,114 Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 54.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,031 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,114 shares during the quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.6%

BX stock opened at $138.42 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 112.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone acquired 1,660,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 1,666,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. The trade was a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone 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.