Blackstone Inc. $BX Stock: Lido Advisors LLC Increases Holdings

Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,629 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,493 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $10,159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Blackstone by 16.3% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 30,903 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,464,000 after acquiring an additional 4,340 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,849 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,716 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 104,517 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $973,000. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 8,646 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:BX opened at $122.01 on Thursday. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $165.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.06. The company has a market capitalization of $91.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 23.16%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a drop from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 2nd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 99.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BX shares. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 191,695 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.17 per share, for a total transaction of $5,016,658.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,895,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $232,794,659.26. This trade represents a 2.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $12,380,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 771,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,523,956.20. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,992,776 shares of company stock valued at $25,507,509 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc. is a global alternative asset manager that invests on behalf of institutional and individual investors. Its businesses span private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, and multi-asset investing, with strategies that include private funds and investment products for a range of clients. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the firm initially focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory work before expanding into investment management.