Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 387,109 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 92.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 807,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 387,109 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $92,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its stake in Blackstone by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Blackstone News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone reported Q2 EPS of $1.52, topping expectations, and revenue of $5.04 billion, also above forecasts, signaling stronger-than-expected operating performance. Blackstone Inc. (BX) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Assets under management reached a record $1.35 trillion, helped by strong inflows, which supports fee growth and reinforces Blackstone’s scale advantage. Blackstone’s quarterly profit gets boost from asset pile, AI investment gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted gains from AI-related investments, suggesting the firm’s early infrastructure bets are paying off and could be an important long-term growth driver. Blackstone’s Profit Surges on AI Investments
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone also launched new public-private market investment solutions with Wellington and Vanguard, which could broaden its reach with wealthy investors, but the near-term earnings impact is still uncertain. Wellington, Vanguard, and Blackstone Announce the Launch of Two Investment Solutions
• Neutral Sentiment: Some headlines noted pressure in private credit fundraising and broader market concerns around rates, oil, and geopolitical risk, but these were outweighed by the company’s strong quarterly results. Blackstone’s quarterly profit gets boost from asset pile, AI investment gains

Blackstone Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $124.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $120.10 and its 200-day moving average is $124.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citizens Jmp cut their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.71.

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.