NewEdge Wealth LLC Invests $64.29 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 546,382 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $64,293,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC owned about 0.07% of Blackstone as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 100,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,561,000 after acquiring an additional 8,321 shares during the period. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $1,340,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $7,303,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 807,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $92,817,000 after buying an additional 387,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $145.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $108.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $127.99 and its 200-day moving average is $122.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.