Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 30,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $3,767,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Blackstone by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,254,342 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $155,288,000 after purchasing an additional 142,026 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,125 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth $10,957,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 12.7% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,445 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,483,000 after purchasing an additional 6,788 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 5.1% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 24,836 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $151.19 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $136.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.34. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.59 and a 1 year high of $151.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 921,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.00, for a total value of $14,323,104.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 921,184 shares in the company, valued at $113,305,632. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.