Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Acquires 57,381 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Robertson Stephens Wealth Management increased its stake in Blackstone by 677.6% in Q4, purchasing an additional 57,381 shares to hold 65,849 shares worth $10.15 million.
• Blackstone beat Q1 estimates with $1.36 EPS (vs. $1.34 expected) and $3.62 billion revenue (up 10% YoY), and declared a $1.16 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.64, yield 3.7%) with a payout ratio of 118.67%.
• Market sentiment is mixed: insiders sold 9,103,660 shares over the last three months (including Vikrant Sawhney's 30,014-share sale), Zacks downgraded BX to a "5 — Strong Sell," while the analyst consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $150.95.

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 677.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 65,849 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 57,381 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sources say Apollo, Blackstone and KKR are competing to buy Shell’s stake in the massive LNG Canada project — a potential strategic investment for Blackstone that could add scale to its energy/private assets and revenue potential if a deal is reached. Exclusive: Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend coverage highlights an upcoming payout (Simply Wall St/Yahoo piece), which can support investor sentiment for BX by signaling cash return and income potential for shareholders. Blackstone Inc. NYSE: BX Pays A US$1.16 Dividend In Just Two Days
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-focused coverage of Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call (MSN roundup of top analyst questions) may affect near-term guidance detail and investor expectations but is more informational unless new guidance or revisions emerge. Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call: Our top 5 analyst questions
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 BX shares on May 1 at about $125.79 (≈$3.78M), reducing his stake by ~3.23% — a large, disclosed sale that can be perceived negatively by investors searching for insider conviction. SEC filing: Insider sale SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research moved BX to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), a notable downgrade that can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by momentum/quant strategies. Coverage referenced by Zacks/TickerReport and media roundups. Zacks.com Tickerreport: Zacks downgrade

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 price objective on Blackstone in a report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $156.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Eleven investment 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 a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.95.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BX opened at $126.56 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company has a market cap of $93.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.27.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is 118.67%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,103,660 shares of company stock valued at $45,982,920 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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