Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its Blackstone stake by 8% in the first quarter, buying 113,608 additional shares and bringing its total to 1,539,157 shares worth about $176.96 million.
• Blackstone’s latest quarter was strong, with EPS of $1.52 and revenue of $5.04 billion, both well above analyst expectations. Revenue also rose 35.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, implying a 4.0% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $147.76.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,539,157 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 113,608 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.21% of Blackstone worth $176,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its position in Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Blackstone

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 Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of BX stock opened at $129.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.33 and a 200-day moving average of $124.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $96.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

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.

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