Portside Wealth Group LLC Acquires New Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Portside Wealth Group LLC has made a notable investment by acquiring a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the third quarter of this year. This information was revealed in their latest Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,315 shares of Blackstone's stock, amounting to an investment valued at around $201,000.

In addition to Portside Wealth Group, several other major investors have also made adjustments to their holdings in Blackstone. For instance, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. After acquiring an additional 7,692 shares in the last quarter, they now own a total of 431,784 shares worth approximately $53,455,000. Meanwhile, Blue Trust Inc. significantly boosted its position by 936.2% in the same quarter, bringing their ownership to 5,958 shares valued at around $783,000 after purchasing an extra 5,383 shares.

Asahi Life Asset Management Co., Ltd. entered the scene with a new investment of about $557,000 in Blackstone during the third quarter. Additionally, Scientech Research LLC established a new position worth roughly $1,364,000 in the second quarter. Furthermore, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC expanded its interest by 11.3% in Blackstone in the same quarter, accumulating a total of 54,159 shares valued at $6,705,000 after acquiring 5,479 additional shares. Currently, institutional investors hold 70.00% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related developments, insider John G. Finley divested 42,249 shares of Blackstone on November 7th at an average selling price of $175.94. This transaction totaled approximately $7,433,289.06. After the sale, Finley’s remaining shares amounted to 387,137, reflecting an ownership value of about $68,112,883.78, which represents no change in their ownership percentage. This trade was reported in a disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Additionally, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares on October 1st, generating about $17,561,522.88 at an average price of $150.81 per share. Following this transaction, Baratta now owns 799,749 shares, valued at roughly $120,610,146.69. Similar to Finley, this sale also reflects no change in Baratta's ownership percentage. Company insiders maintain a 1.00% stake in Blackstone.

Performance and Financial Overview

As of Friday, Blackstone's stock price stood at $177.46. The company recorded a 12-month low of $96.15 and reached a high of $178.63. Blackstone boasts a market capitalization of $128.13 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 60.98 and a price/earnings-to-growth (P/E/G) ratio of 1.51. The stock has a beta of 1.49, while its quick and current ratios are 0.77 and 0.71, respectively. Blackstone's debt-to-equity ratio currently sits at 0.58. The average price over the last 50 days is $157.11, while the two-hundred-day moving average stands at $137.98.

Blackstone recently released its quarterly earnings data on October 17th, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $1.01, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. For the quarter, the firm generated revenues of $2.43 billion, exceeding the expected $2.37 billion. Blackstone achieved a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Analysts predict Blackstone will report an EPS of 4.39 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Declaration

Furthermore, the company has announced a quarterly dividend, which was distributed on November 4th. Shareholders of record as of October 28th received a dividend of $0.86, an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Annually, this translates to a total dividend of $3.44, yielding 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was also October 28th, with Blackstone's current dividend payout ratio at 118.21%.

Market Outlook and Analyst Ratings

Blackstone has garnered interest from various research analysts. Notably, Morgan Stanley has raised its price target from $164.00 to $177.00, rating the stock as “overweight” in a report dated October 10th. Barclays also increased its target from $155.00 to $174.00, with a rating of “equal weight” given on October 18th. UBS Group raised their target from $140.00 to $160.00 and rated it “neutral” on October 16th. Evercore ISI moved their price objective from $148.00 to $155.00, granting an “outperform” rating on October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen adjusted their target from $133.00 to $149.00, maintaining a “hold” recommendation on October 18th. Currently, thirteen analysts have given the stock a hold rating, while six have rated it as a buy. Overall, Blackstone holds a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $155.38.

Understanding Blackstone's Operations

Blackstone Inc. specializes in alternative asset management, focusing on various sectors including real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, as well as public debt and equity strategies. The firm predominantly invests in early-stage companies and provides capital markets services.

investment, insider, dividend