Blackstone Inc. $BX Position Cut by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 143,525 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,572 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $16,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.33.

Blackstone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces highlight Blackstone’s upcoming quarterly report and suggest the company may beat earnings expectations again, reinforcing bullish sentiment ahead of results. Blackstone Inc. (BX) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone also drew favorable attention for earnings momentum and dividend appeal, with commentary pointing to strong fee-related earnings, large assets under management, and a solid yield profile that may keep income-focused investors interested. Blackstone: The Largest Data Center Investor Is On Sale Yielding 3.8%
• Positive Sentiment: News that Blackstone is building a new APAC infrastructure platform and hiring a senior executive from KKR supports the company’s growth strategy and signals continued expansion in infrastructure investing. Blackstone creates new APAC infrastructure platform, hires Momaya from KKR
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target on Blackstone to $132 from $136 and kept a neutral rating, which suggests some caution but still implies modest upside from the current share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital also reiterated a buy view on Blackstone, while other commentary around real estate and AI-related ventures adds to the broader narrative but does not appear to be a major immediate catalyst. RBC Capital Remains a Buy on Blackstone Group (BX)

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $128.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $119.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.90. The company has a market cap of $95.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.67%.

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.