Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Buys 21,913 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its Blackstone stake by 23% in the fourth quarter, buying 21,913 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 116,996 shares worth about $18.0 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and 70% of Blackstone’s stock is owned by institutions, highlighting continued professional investor interest.
• Blackstone reported quarterly EPS of $1.36, slightly ahead of estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a consensus target price of $151.05.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,996 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 21,913 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $18,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 2,868,069 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $487,129,914.25. The trade was a 18.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders purchased 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896 and sold 9,128,660 shares valued at $46,457,920. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

Blackstone stock opened at $118.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $118.52 and a 200-day moving average of $133.01. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $87.67 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.63. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 118.67%.

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.

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