Cerity Partners LLC Has $64.94 Million Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its Blackstone stake by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, holding 421,280 shares worth about $64.9 million at period end.
• Other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and institutional ownership stands at 70% of Blackstone’s stock.
• Blackstone’s latest news flow was mixed but included positives such as a $35 billion AI infrastructure financing platform and improving private wealth inflows, while analysts remain cautious with a consensus Hold rating and average price target of $150.86.

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 421,280 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 28,972 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Blackstone worth $64,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BX. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is helping launch a $35 billion AI infrastructure financing platform with Broadcom and Apollo, with the initial capital aimed at expanding Anthropic’s compute capacity. Investors may view this as a high-profile growth opportunity tied to AI demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Blackstone’s private wealth inflows improved in June, which suggests fundraising momentum may be stabilizing and could support future fee-related earnings. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is also increasing investments in significant risk transfers, a growing market where banks seek balance-sheet relief and Blackstone can earn attractive returns and fees. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone presented at the Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials Conference, but no major new operating catalyst was indicated in the transcript headline. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: State regulators are reportedly recommending reversal of Blackstone’s $400 million TXNM Energy acquisition, citing legal violations. That raises execution and regulatory risk for the firm’s dealmaking business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered its price target on Blackstone to $130 from $134 and kept a neutral rating, which may reinforce a more cautious view of near-term upside. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased 12,355,303 shares of company stock valued at $264,789,896 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BX. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Thirteen investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.86.

Blackstone Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of BX stock opened at $120.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $119.55 and a 200-day moving average of $131.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $89.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

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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