Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its Blackstone stake by 13.0% in the first quarter, buying 26,889 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 233,387 shares worth about $26.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with about 70% of Blackstone shares held by institutions and hedge funds, while insider activity has been mixed, including a large sale by one major shareholder and a significant purchase by another.
• Analysts remain generally positive on BX, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $147.10, even as some firms trimmed their targets slightly; Blackstone also recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and maintained a 3.8% dividend yield.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 233,387 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 26,889 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $26,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Blackstone from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.10.

Blackstone News Roundup

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

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $122.97. 2,568,812 shares of the company's stock 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $119.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.95.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

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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