Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP reduced its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 87.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,854 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 214,277 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Blackstone by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $983,690,000 after buying an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter valued at $164,597,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Blackstone by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Blackstone by 476.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after buying an additional 1,094,307 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $1.52 versus expectations around $1.33-$1.34 and revenue of $5.04 billion versus $3.42 billion expected, signaling better-than-expected operating performance. Blackstone Inc. (BX) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Assets under management hit a record $1.35 trillion, helped by nearly $70 billion in quarterly inflows, which suggests Blackstone continues to attract capital even in a tougher fundraising environment. Blackstone’s quarterly profit gets boost from asset pile, AI investment gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted that AI-related investments are starting to pay off, with gains across data centers, infrastructure, credit, and private markets boosting profit and growth prospects. BX Q2 Earnings Call Highlights AI Strategy & Fundraising Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Blackstone to $169 from $161 and kept an outperform rating, underscoring improved analyst confidence in the stock. Analyst price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone is also in the final bidding for yacht retailer MarineMax, a potential acquisition that could expand its deal flow, though the impact on earnings is still uncertain. Blackstone, Donerail among final bidders for yacht retailer MarineMax, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, which is supportive for income-focused investors, but this is a smaller near-term driver than the earnings beat and AI-related growth narrative. Dividend announcement

Blackstone Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:BX opened at $129.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $96.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $120.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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 Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BX. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.76.

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.