Wealth Effects LLC Purchases Shares of 33,379 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Wealth Effects LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 33,379 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,928,000. Blackstone accounts for 1.1% of Wealth Effects LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in Blackstone by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 573,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,000,006.10. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,455,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $221,118,071.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the acquisition, the director owned 42,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $143.94 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.51 and a 200-day moving average of $122.51. The stock has a market cap of $108.04 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.55. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 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 the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.95.

About Blackstone

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.