Bank of America Corp DE Raises Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Blackstone stake by 3.4% in the first quarter, adding 384,264 shares to hold 11.54 million shares worth approximately $1.33 billion. Institutional investors collectively own about 70% of Blackstone.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 13 Buy ratings and 11 Hold ratings producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $147.95.
• Blackstone reported strong quarterly results, including $1.52 in earnings per share and $5.04 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share from $1.16.

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,538,067 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 384,264 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.55% of Blackstone worth $1,326,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Family CFO Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, HSBC restated a "hold" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Key Stories Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is acquiring DarkVision Technologies from Koch Engineered Solutions through funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners. DarkVision’s AI-powered ultrasound imaging is used to inspect critical industrial infrastructure, expanding Blackstone’s exposure to infrastructure technology, energy transition and industrial reliability. Blackstone Energy Transition Partners Announces Agreement to Acquire DarkVision from Koch Engineered Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC agreed to sell Blackstone its A$36 billion Australian home and personal loan portfolio, worth approximately US$25.3 billion. The transaction supports Blackstone’s expansion in Australian private credit and marks HSBC’s exit from retail banking in the country, although financial terms and closing details were not disclosed. HSBC to sell $25.3 billion Australian home loan portfolio to Blackstone
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone’s latest quarterly results showed strong operating momentum: earnings per share reached $1.52 versus a $1.34 consensus estimate, revenue rose 36% year over year to $5.04 billion, and assets under management increased 11% to $1.35 trillion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 from $1.16. Blackstone’s Profit Jumped 26% on AI Bets but the Stock Barely Moved
• Neutral Sentiment: A major Blackstone shareholder purchased 573,614 shares, increasing its position by 7.28%. The purchase may signal insider confidence, but it is unlikely to materially alter the company’s fundamentals. Blackstone Major Shareholder Acquires Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong earnings and AI-related investment activity, analysts and valuation checks suggest BX may already be fully priced or trading at a premium. That concern appears to be muting the market’s response to the company’s otherwise favorable results. Blackstone Stock May Be Fully Priced as Q2 AI Profit Jumps

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 765,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares in the company, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 10,825,959 shares of company stock worth $224,789,900 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE BX opened at $128.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's 50 day moving average is $121.47 and its 200 day moving average is $123.84. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

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.

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