Perigon Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 60,053 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $7,066,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $616,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.1%

BX stock opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $127.05 and its 200 day moving average is $122.45. The firm has a market cap of $105.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56.

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 company 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%.Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,787,065.13. This represents a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock valued at $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Blackstone

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.