HB Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management increased its Blackstone stake by 18.8% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 50,885 shares valued at approximately $5.99 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of Blackstone’s stock.
• Blackstone reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 versus the $1.34 consensus estimate and revenue of $5.04 billion, up 35.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $5.16 and a 3.8% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $149.43.

HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 18.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,885 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 8,047 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $5,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. NBH Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1%

BX stock opened at $136.07 on Tuesday. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.17 and a 200-day moving average of $123.13. The company has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company's revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 115.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Argus increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 516,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. The trade was a 8.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Profile

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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