M&T Bank Corp Cuts Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Blackstone by 76.5% in Q4, selling 80,393 shares and leaving it with 24,720 shares valued at $3.81 million.
• Blackstone beat Q1 estimates with record fee‑earning AUM, flagged AI infrastructure growth, and declared a $1.16 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.8%).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $151.36 price target—while recent private‑credit loan defaults and heavy short‑seller interest present near‑term downside risks.

M&T Bank Corp decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 76.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,720 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 80,393 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Blackstone were worth $3,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,827,437 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $12,100,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,060 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,358,334,000 after acquiring an additional 412,281 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after acquiring an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,677,997 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $799,236,000 after acquiring an additional 145,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,107,665 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $701,795,000 after acquiring an additional 416,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $151.36.

Blackstone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and record AUM — Blackstone reported Q1 results above estimates, fee‑earning AUM hit a record and management flagged strong AI infrastructure and fee‑related earnings growth, a clear fundamental positive for growth and fee visibility. Blackstone Inc (BX) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend boost — Blackstone declared a $1.16 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.8%), supporting income investors and providing a valuation floor.
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target to $156 (outperform), signaling some buy‑side conviction that valuation upside remains despite recent volatility. Oppenheimer raises Blackstone PT to $156
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure exposure — Blackstone‑backed AirTrunk exploring bonds to fund data center expansion highlights the firm's exposure to growing AI infrastructure demand, a growth theme investors like. Blackstone-Backed AirTrunk Explores A$500M Bond
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — Several firms trimmed price targets but left ratings intact (Deutsche Bank to $146, TD Cowen to $140, Rothschild & Co Redburn to $134), reflecting modestly reduced upside assumptions but not broad sell calls. Deutsche Bank adjusts Blackstone PT to $146 Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts PT to $134 TD Cowen adjusts PT to $140
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analyst note — Morgan Stanley issued a different PT action (recent coverage note), adding to mixed signals from brokers. Morgan Stanley Lowers Blackstone PT to $184
• Negative Sentiment: Private‑credit stress — WSJ reports two large loan defaults (Medallia, Affordable Care) that hit private‑credit lenders including Blackstone, raising short‑term loss and mark risks in Blackstone’s private‑credit portfolios. Two Big Loan Defaults Add to Pain in Private‑Credit Funds
• Negative Sentiment: Negative market narrative / short interest — Jim Cramer noted heavy short‑seller interest in BX, which can amplify downside on mixed headlines even if fundamentals remain intact. Jim Cramer on Blackstone: “Too Many Short Sellers, But Not a Lot of Failures”

Blackstone Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $121.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.74. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.99.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 152.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This trade represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 2,868,069 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the purchase, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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