Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 462,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 13,279 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Blackstone worth $79,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arcus Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the second quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.7% in the second quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its position in Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.3%

BX opened at $129.73 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $151.92 and its 200-day moving average is $159.48. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $1.49 dividend. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 132.99%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 384,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.01 per share, with a total value of $10,000,012.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,525,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,818,293.17. This represents a 2.38% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore cut their target price on Blackstone from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Blackstone from $171.00 to $164.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $171.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.77.

Blackstone 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.