Blackstone Inc. $BX Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors reduced its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,558,378 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,455,811 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned approximately 1.57% of Blackstone worth $1,781,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,358,334,000 after purchasing an additional 412,281 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $1,275,747,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after purchasing an additional 329,379 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 price objective on Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.05.

Key Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone-backed AirTrunk plans to invest $30 billion in India digital infrastructure, highlighting continued growth opportunities in Blackstone’s portfolio and exposure to AI/data-center demand. Blackstone-backed AirTrunk to invest $30B in India digital infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone also remains active on the capital-deployment side, with a new partnership with Nippon Life and the successful IPO of Liftoff Mobile adding to the firm’s deal-making momentum. Blackstone’s Liftoff IPO And Nippon Life Deal Reshape BX Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: The stock also appeared to rebound sharply after an earlier selloff, as some investors viewed the withdrawal cap as a sign of private-credit demand pressures rather than a direct fundamental hit to earnings. Why is Blackstone stock gaining despite a withdrawal cap on its flagship fund?
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer-related headlines from other alternative-asset managers and broader private-credit redemption concerns are adding sector-wide volatility, but they do not directly change Blackstone’s reported quarterly earnings outlook. Alternative Managers Shares Slip as Cliffwater Redemption Fears Mount
• Negative Sentiment: Blackstone’s decision to limit redemptions at Blackstone Private Credit Fund is the main overhang, as it signals heavier-than-expected withdrawal demand and raises questions about liquidity across private markets. Investors Seek to Pull 10% from Blackstone’s Giant Private-Credit Fund
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports that redemption requests surged and that Blackstone capped withdrawals reinforced investor concern about private-credit and private-equity fund liquidity, which has weighed on BX sentiment. Redemption requests rise at Blackstone, Partners Group as private markets strain

Blackstone Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of BX stock opened at $115.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $85.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Blackstone Company 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.