Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 43,399 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its Blackstone stake by 19.4% in the first quarter, buying 43,399 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 267,390 shares worth about $30.7 million.
• Blackstone’s insider buying was notable, with major shareholders purchasing more than 10.25 million shares in the last quarter, valued at roughly $209.8 million.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.36 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $147.10.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 19.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 267,390 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 43,399 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $30,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,703,000 after acquiring an additional 8,655 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 765,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $122.97. 2,568,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,830,672. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.67%.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP lifted its price target on Blackstone to $165 from $190 and kept an “outperform” view, signaling confidence that the shares still have meaningful upside from current levels. Blackstone NYSE: BX Given New $165.00 Price Target at Citizens Jmp
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone and TPG are reportedly seeking more than $4 billion for Hologic’s surgical unit, underscoring continued private-equity dealmaking activity and potential value creation from large asset sales or acquisitions. Blackstone, TPG seek over $4 billion for Hologic's surgical unit, FT says
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Barclays is preparing roughly $875 million of debt financing tied to a Blackstone takeover highlight active transaction flow that can support fees and investment returns for the firm. Market Chatter: Barclays Readies $875 Million Debt Sale for Blackstone's Senior Takeover
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays cut Blackstone’s price target to $119 from $124 and kept an “equal weight” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term view even as the target remains close to the current share price. Blackstone NYSE: BX Price Target Lowered to $119.00 at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report said Apollo and Blackstone helped turn Broadcom’s and Anthropic’s AI chip financing into debt for other investors, which is notable but not directly a clear positive or negative catalyst for BX shares. Apollo and Blackstone just turned Broadcom, Anthropic's AI chip bet into somebody else's debt

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BX shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Blackstone from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their target price on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.10.

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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