NewEdge Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Blackstone Inc. by 15.4%, owning 545,261 shares after selling 99,424 shares in the first quarter, making Blackstone its 9th largest position.
• Blackstone has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.03 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.4%.
• Insider trading activity includes John G. Finley selling 25,000 shares and the major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. purchasing over 1.1 million shares, which indicates significant movements in ownership.

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 15.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 545,261 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 99,424 shares during the quarter. Blackstone makes up about 1.4% of NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. NewEdge Wealth LLC owned about 0.07% of Blackstone worth $76,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Blackstone by 105.4% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 6,878 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $63,109,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 31,212 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $1,747,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its stake in Blackstone by 34.3% in the first quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 64,614 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $9,032,000 after purchasing an additional 16,486 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone bought 1,189,532 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.22 per share, for a total transaction of $29,999,997.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,178,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $105,388,604.62. This represents a 39.79% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.5%

Blackstone stock opened at $170.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.66 and a 12 month high of $200.96. The firm has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.68.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Saturday, July 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.12.

Blackstone Company 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.

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