Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 113,608 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,539,157 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 113,608 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $176,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 34.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,024,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $1.52 versus expectations around $1.33-$1.34 and revenue of $5.04 billion versus $3.42 billion expected, signaling better-than-expected operating performance. Blackstone Inc. (BX) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Assets under management hit a record $1.35 trillion, helped by nearly $70 billion in quarterly inflows, which suggests Blackstone continues to attract capital even in a tougher fundraising environment. Blackstone’s quarterly profit gets boost from asset pile, AI investment gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted that AI-related investments are starting to pay off, with gains across data centers, infrastructure, credit, and private markets boosting profit and growth prospects. BX Q2 Earnings Call Highlights AI Strategy & Fundraising Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Blackstone to $169 from $161 and kept an outperform rating, underscoring improved analyst confidence in the stock. Analyst price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone is also in the final bidding for yacht retailer MarineMax, a potential acquisition that could expand its deal flow, though the impact on earnings is still uncertain. Blackstone, Donerail among final bidders for yacht retailer MarineMax, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, which is supportive for income-focused investors, but this is a smaller near-term driver than the earnings beat and AI-related growth narrative. Dividend announcement

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on BX. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.76.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $129.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $96.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 103.80%.

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.