Midwest Trust Co Buys 58,175 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Midwest Trust Co grew its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 30.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 246,976 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,175 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $28,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BX. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:BX traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $122.97. 2,568,812 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,830,672. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $91.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $119.72 and a 200 day moving average of $126.95. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP lifted its price target on Blackstone to $165 from $190 and kept an “outperform” view, signaling confidence that the shares still have meaningful upside from current levels. Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $165.00 Price Target at Citizens Jmp
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone and TPG are reportedly seeking more than $4 billion for Hologic’s surgical unit, underscoring continued private-equity dealmaking activity and potential value creation from large asset sales or acquisitions. Blackstone, TPG seek over $4 billion for Hologic’s surgical unit, FT says
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Barclays is preparing roughly $875 million of debt financing tied to a Blackstone takeover highlight active transaction flow that can support fees and investment returns for the firm. Market Chatter: Barclays Readies $875 Million Debt Sale for Blackstone’s Senior Takeover
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays cut Blackstone’s price target to $119 from $124 and kept an “equal weight” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term view even as the target remains close to the current share price. Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target Lowered to $119.00 at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report said Apollo and Blackstone helped turn Broadcom’s and Anthropic’s AI chip financing into debt for other investors, which is notable but not directly a clear positive or negative catalyst for BX shares. Apollo and Blackstone just turned Broadcom, Anthropic’s AI chip bet into somebody else’s debt

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. HSBC dropped their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research raised Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.10.

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.