Wealth Effects LLC Purchases 5,825 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Wealth Effects LLC raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 24.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,916 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,825 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up about 1.2% of Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jain Global LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $9,116,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,270,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $217,083,000 after purchasing an additional 24,237 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 20.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 840,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,582,000 after purchasing an additional 142,479 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in Blackstone by 16,035.1% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $194,746,000 after buying an additional 1,133,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 904,237 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $154,489,000 after buying an additional 18,339 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Argus lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.86.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $115.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $120.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.22. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $85.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.67%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 in the last 90 days. 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.