ARS Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 57.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 385,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 141,340 shares during the period. Blackstone makes up approximately 2.3% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $44,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 9,487,234 shares of company stock worth $189,789,892. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX stock opened at $123.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $121.11 and a 200 day moving average of $130.35. The company has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.86.

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.