Visionary Wealth Advisors Acquires Shares of 5,275 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Visionary Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,275 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.5% in the third quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.50. 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 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is a boost 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 115.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. The trade was a 12.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.