Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Bought by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. by 357.8% in the first quarter, now owning 10,515 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• Blackstone recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.03 per share, an increase from its previous dividend of $0.93, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.
• Analyst ratings are generally positive for Blackstone, with several firms raising their price targets, reflecting an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 357.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,515 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 8,218 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,007 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,243,000 after acquiring an additional 52,659 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 52,339 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,024,000 after purchasing an additional 18,632 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,298 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,155,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.1%

BX opened at $169.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $200.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $166.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.82.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.75%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 16,689,884 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.26, for a total value of $104,478,673.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total value of $8,829,594.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 737,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $128,015,742.72. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 1,189,806 shares of company stock worth $30,046,627 and sold 16,850,134 shares worth $131,641,986. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.38.

Blackstone Company 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.

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