Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Raises Position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,991 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $8,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,091,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,652,526,000 after purchasing an additional 14,396,655 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Blackstone by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,825,769 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,588,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744,652 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Blackstone by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,877,288 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $736,833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,098,150 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,106,889 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $654,292,000 after acquiring an additional 92,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,246,005 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $562,058,000 after purchasing an additional 106,251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.4 %

BX traded down $1.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $118.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,193,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,638,354. The company has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a PE ratio of 42.62, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $125.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.68. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $79.92 and a one year high of $133.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.98. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 117.31%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 34,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 232 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 dated Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $128.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.65.

Blackstone Company 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.