NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires 37,969 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its Blackstone stake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 37,969 shares to bring its total holdings to 714,702 shares valued at about $110.2 million.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.36 topping estimates, while revenue rose 10% year over year to $3.43 billion.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share, and analysts currently have a mixed view on the stock with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $150.95.

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 714,702 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 37,969 shares during the period. Blackstone accounts for about 1.2% of NewEdge Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Blackstone worth $110,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Family CFO Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,103,660 shares of company stock valued at $45,982,920 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:BX opened at $123.64 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $116.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.63.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $156.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, April 24th. HSBC decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.95.

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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