Blackstone Inc. $BX Stock Position Trimmed by Cryder Capital Partners LLP

Cryder Capital Partners LLP cut its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 18.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 810,020 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 187,297 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for about 7.6% of Cryder Capital Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Cryder Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.11% of Blackstone worth $138,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone reported a strong Q4: revenue and EPS beat consensus, with revenue up ~41% year-over-year, reinforcing earnings momentum and fee-related growth. MSN: Q4 results
• Positive Sentiment: Management is returning more cash to shareholders — Blackstone said shareholders will receive a bigger dividend than last year, supporting the yield/distribution narrative that appeals to income-oriented investors. Yahoo: Bigger dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Real-estate win: Anthropic signed a full-building lease at two downtown San Francisco properties owned by a Blackstone joint venture — a meaningful large-tenant commitment that helps leasing momentum and cash flow visibility in the RE portfolio. BusinessWire: Anthropic lease
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights a stronger distribution narrative for S&P 500 names tied to Blackstone’s moves, which can support investor interest in BX as a distribution/total-return play. Kalkine: distribution narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic moves under review — Blackstone is reportedly weighing exits in energy and ICT assets while exploring a stake in Indian Premier League cricket; these moves could reshape the portfolio but timing and proceeds are uncertain. Yahoo: portfolio strategy
• Negative Sentiment: Several major banks trimmed price targets (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, BMO, Rothschild/Redburn) which reduces near-term analyst support and likely contributed to selling pressure; some firms still rate BX outperform/neutral but at lower targets. MarketScreener: BMO MarketScreener: Redburn AmericanBankingNews: Goldman
• Negative Sentiment: Momentum/sentiment: reports note BX has been down for multiple sessions (selling streak), which can amplify declines as funds and momentum traders accelerate exits. Seeking Alpha: selling streak

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $133.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $152.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.31. The company has a market cap of $98.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.76. Blackstone Inc. has a one year low of $115.66 and a one year high of $190.09.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $1.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the purchase, the director owned 39,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,741,192.84. The trade was a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 770,078 shares of company stock valued at $20,058,800. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BX shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $199.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $195.00 price objective on Blackstone in a report on Friday. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.33.

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.