Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXFree Report) by 13.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,387 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,889 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $26,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after buying an additional 1,249,269 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 476.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $204,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE BX traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $122.97. 2,568,812 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,830,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.95.

Blackstone (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.10.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Blackstone

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Blackstone Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Blackstone (NYSE:BX)

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