Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Bought by Modera Wealth Management LLC

Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,158 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,627 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $2,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Washington Trust Bank acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth about $322,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 238,432 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,721,000 after acquiring an additional 14,351 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in Blackstone by 1,964.5% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 103,556 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,490,000 after purchasing an additional 98,540 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in Blackstone by 14.4% during the second quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 3,660 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Finally, Highlander Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter. Highlander Partners L.P. now owns 244,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,498,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $146.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $165.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.17. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.71, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 22.30%. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Blackstone from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Blackstone from $173.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 113,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.69, for a total value of $19,852,970.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 695,757 shares in the company, valued at $122,237,547.33. This trade represents a 13.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 21,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.46, for a total transaction of $3,686,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 453,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,814,720.56. This trade represents a 4.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 2,565,415 shares of company stock worth $69,037,981 and have sold 16,875,234 shares worth $136,847,628. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.