Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 84.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,621 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 77,448 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $23,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Blackstone by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 8,110 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 4,013 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $143.62 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $137.88 and its 200-day moving average is $153.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.79 billion, a PE ratio of 43.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 19.83%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.05%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.00 per share, with a total value of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,053,344.11. This trade represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Blackstone from $182.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Blackstone 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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