Danske Bank A S Buys 32,200 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S raised its stake in Blackstone (NYSE:BX) by 12.4%, adding 32,200 shares to hold 291,856 shares valued at roughly $44.99 million at quarter-end.
• Significant selling pressure — Tactical Opportunit[ies] sold 1,596,142 shares (~$15.96M) and insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares (~$3.78M); insiders have offloaded 9,103,660 shares in the past 90 days, while institutions own about 70% and insiders ~1%.
• Operational and payout update: Blackstone slightly beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.36 vs. $1.34; revenue $3.62B, +10% y/y) and declared a $1.16 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.64, ~3.7% yield) despite a high payout ratio (~152%).

Danske Bank A S raised its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 291,856 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 32,200 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S's holdings in Blackstone were worth $44,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sources say Apollo, Blackstone and KKR are competing to buy Shell’s stake in the massive LNG Canada project — a potential strategic investment for Blackstone that could add scale to its energy/private assets and revenue potential if a deal is reached. Exclusive: Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend coverage highlights an upcoming payout (Simply Wall St/Yahoo piece), which can support investor sentiment for BX by signaling cash return and income potential for shareholders. Blackstone Inc. NYSE: BX Pays A US$1.16 Dividend In Just Two Days
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-focused coverage of Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call (MSN roundup of top analyst questions) may affect near-term guidance detail and investor expectations but is more informational unless new guidance or revisions emerge. Blackstone’s Q1 earnings call: Our top 5 analyst questions
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 BX shares on May 1 at about $125.79 (≈$3.78M), reducing his stake by ~3.23% — a large, disclosed sale that can be perceived negatively by investors searching for insider conviction. SEC filing: Insider sale SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research moved BX to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), a notable downgrade that can pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by momentum/quant strategies. Coverage referenced by Zacks/TickerReport and media roundups. Zacks.com Tickerreport: Zacks downgrade

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,103,660 shares of company stock valued at $45,982,920. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $161.00 to $143.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Blackstone from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.95.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $126.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $93.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.95 and a 200-day moving average of $137.27.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 152.43%.

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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