Cibc World Market Inc. Raises Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,115 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 6,670 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $26,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone announced an investment partnership with Nippon Life Insurance focused on private credit and real estate capital deployment, adding a new source of assets under management and potential fee growth. Blackstone, Nippon Life Insurance partner on private credit, real estate
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone-backed Liftoff Mobile completed an IPO, reinforcing Blackstone’s ability to monetize portfolio investments and create value through exits. Blackstone’s Liftoff IPO And Nippon Life Deal Reshape BX Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: TransAlta agreed to buy Blackstone-backed Colorado peaking plants for about $1 billion, which shows continued asset sale activity and potential capital recycling, but the stock impact is unclear from the announcement alone. TransAlta to buy Blackstone-backed Colorado peaking plants for $1 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Blackstone’s private credit fund withdrawal cap is fueling renewed investor anxiety about liquidity in private markets and could pressure sentiment if redemption stress spreads to peers. Investors Seek to Pull 10% from Blackstone’s Giant Private-Credit Fund
• Negative Sentiment: Peer fund redemption limits from Partners Group and Cliffwater triggered a broader selloff in alternative asset managers, weighing on BX despite today’s rebound. KKR, Ares, Blackstone tumble premarket as Partners Group caps private equity fund withdrawals

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone Trading Up 7.6%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $118.62 on Friday. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $88.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.84.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $133.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.05.

Blackstone 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.