Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $33.09 Million Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 193,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,223 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $33,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BX. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.1% during the third quarter. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 7,414 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 19.4% during the third quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 55,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,399,000 after purchasing an additional 8,942 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.7% in the third quarter. SOL Capital Management CO now owns 107,942 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $18,442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 26,440 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,517,000 after buying an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Finally, Scott & Selber Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $163.67 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.66 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.32. The company has a market cap of $120.86 billion, a PE ratio of 46.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on Blackstone from $175.00 to $172.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $168.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the acquisition, the director owned 39,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,741,192.84. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 797,148 shares of company stock worth $24,050,153 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.