Rockland Trust Co. Purchases 7,204 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 339.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,204 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $1,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,394,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,796 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 21.2% in the second quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,810,000 after buying an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 346,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $58,337,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 733.2% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 13,715 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,343,000 after acquiring an additional 12,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 259.8% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 22,160 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,315,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $133.78 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $151.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.84. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.49 per share. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Key Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone increased its stake in AI startup Anthropic to roughly $1 billion, giving BX bigger exposure to the high-growth AI/chatbot space and potential upside if Anthropic scales. Blackstone boosts stake in Anthropic – Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone co-led a $10 billion debt package to Australian AI-infrastructure developer Firmus, a large fee-bearing financing win that deepens the firm’s play in AI infrastructure and credit markets. Firmus $10B debt package – Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Brookfield is in talks to buy Blackstone’s Fidere business for about $1.2 billion, which would crystallize value from a portfolio asset and improve liquidity/deployment flexibility. Brookfield in talks to buy Fidere – Reuters
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (late Jan) beat estimates — EPS and revenue came in ahead of expectations — supporting the earnings/fee-growth story that underpins BX’s valuation. Blackstone stock profile and recent results – MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s presentation at the Bank of America Financial Services Conference was posted (transcript), useful for details on strategy, capital allocation and fundraising but no single market-moving announcement. BOA conference transcript – Seeking Alpha
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary pieces note that Blackstone’s business mix is quietly reshaping (more AI/credit activity), which adds strategic context but not an immediate catalyst. Analyst commentary on BX strategy – Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of founder Steve Schwarzman’s philanthropic plans (foundation building) is notable for governance/branding context but unlikely to move near-term fundamentals. Schwarzman foundation plans – WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies trimmed its price target on BX from $185 to $161 (still a Buy), a downgrade to the upside case that could temper short-term upside and investor sentiment. Jefferies lowers price target – MarketScreener

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 384,468 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.01 per share, with a total value of $10,000,012.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,525,117 shares in the company, valued at $429,818,293.17. This trade represents a 2.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. The trade was a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $166.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.68.

About Blackstone

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.