WBI Investments LLC Invests $2.23 Million in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,058 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,233,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 3,320 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 2,592 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,094 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,776 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Argus lifted their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (down from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $123.65.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX stock traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,610,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,650,368. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $124.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.06 and a 1 year high of $133.56. The stock has a market cap of $90.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.13, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 117.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 219 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $119.48 per share, for a total transaction of $26,166.12. Following the purchase, the director now owns 34,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,115,488.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

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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