Midwest Trust Co Acquires 58,175 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Midwest Trust Co increased its Blackstone stake by 30.8% in the first quarter, buying 58,175 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 246,976 shares worth about $28.4 million.
• Blackstone shares traded up 0.7% to $122.97, while the company recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.36, topping analyst estimates and showing 10% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive: several firms raised or lowered price targets, and the stock currently carries an average “Moderate Buy” rating with a consensus price target of $147.10.

Midwest Trust Co boosted its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 246,976 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 58,175 shares during the quarter. Midwest Trust Co's holdings in Blackstone were worth $28,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,251,474,000 after buying an additional 329,379 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Key Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP lifted its price target on Blackstone to $165 from $190 and kept an “outperform” view, signaling confidence that the shares still have meaningful upside from current levels. Blackstone NYSE: BX Given New $165.00 Price Target at Citizens Jmp
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone and TPG are reportedly seeking more than $4 billion for Hologic’s surgical unit, underscoring continued private-equity dealmaking activity and potential value creation from large asset sales or acquisitions. Blackstone, TPG seek over $4 billion for Hologic's surgical unit, FT says
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Barclays is preparing roughly $875 million of debt financing tied to a Blackstone takeover highlight active transaction flow that can support fees and investment returns for the firm. Market Chatter: Barclays Readies $875 Million Debt Sale for Blackstone's Senior Takeover
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays cut Blackstone’s price target to $119 from $124 and kept an “equal weight” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term view even as the target remains close to the current share price. Blackstone NYSE: BX Price Target Lowered to $119.00 at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report said Apollo and Blackstone helped turn Broadcom’s and Anthropic’s AI chip financing into debt for other investors, which is notable but not directly a clear positive or negative catalyst for BX shares. Apollo and Blackstone just turned Broadcom, Anthropic's AI chip bet into somebody else's debt

Blackstone Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Blackstone stock traded up $0.82 on Friday, reaching $122.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,568,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,830,672. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $119.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.95. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a market cap of $91.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. Blackstone's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders bought a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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