Diversify Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 31.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,720 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,042 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after acquiring an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,341,300 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,637,266,000 after purchasing an additional 444,887 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,016,046 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,209,707,000 after buying an additional 681,512 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,987,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,032,400,000 after buying an additional 371,677 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $974,448,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX traded down $3.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.86. The company had a trading volume of 4,127,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,869,201. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.86, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.70.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Blackstone from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.18.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 2,849,769 shares of company stock worth $54,932,307 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by 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.