Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $31.83 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 6.6% to 206,498 shares, valued at about $31.83 million at the end of the quarter.
• Blackstone announced a quarterly dividend of $1.16 (annualized $4.64) yielding 3.7%, but the payout ratio is elevated at 118.67%, suggesting dividends exceed reported earnings.
• Analysts are split on BX with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $150.95, while several firms recently adjusted their targets and ratings in both directions.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,498 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 12,800 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $31,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,358,334,000 after acquiring an additional 412,281 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,251,474,000 after acquiring an additional 329,379 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,677,997 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $799,236,000 after purchasing an additional 145,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,107,665 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $701,795,000 after purchasing an additional 416,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $156.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.95.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 2,868,069 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 9,103,660 shares of company stock worth $45,982,920 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $124.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $116.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.41. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. 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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