Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors increased its Blackstone stake by 5.1% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 245,370 shares valued at approximately $28.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of Blackstone’s stock.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.52 exceeding estimates of $1.34 and revenue rising 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, implying a 4.0% annualized yield.
• Shares opened at $129.04, down 3.7%, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $149.43.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 245,370 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 11,983 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $28,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. NBH Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $129.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.16. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Blackstone's revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 64,448 shares in the company, valued at $9,359,783.04. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 371 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.17 per share, with a total value of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at $5,787,065.13. This represents a 0.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.43.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment management and advisory services to institutions, corporations, and individual investors. The company invests across multiple asset classes, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, insurance solutions, and hedge fund solutions.

Its investment activities include acquiring and managing businesses, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, and credit investments.

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