Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Decreases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,894 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 4,630 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $6,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp acquired a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,340,000. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 138,051 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,875,000 after buying an additional 10,778 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 5,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Blackstone by 605.8% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 100,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,596,000 after acquiring an additional 86,557 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone News Summary

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

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX opened at $129.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.72. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $120.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.58.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on BX. Argus cut their target price on Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.76.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.