Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Increases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Nations Financial Group raised its stake in Blackstone by 62.7% in Q4, buying 12,054 shares to hold 31,271 shares worth about $4.82 million at quarter end.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but turning positive: Oppenheimer upgraded BX to Outperform and BMO issued a bullish forecast, while several firms cut price targets; consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $155.55 target after a ~20% 90‑day pullback.
• Large insider selling occurred recently — Tactical Opportunit sold ~1.6M shares (~$16M) and Bx Buzz ML‑1 sold ~7.48M shares (~$26.3M) — even as institutions own about 70% of the stock and insiders just 1%.

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 62.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,271 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 12,054 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Blackstone were worth $4,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BX. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer upgraded BX to Outperform, citing attractive valuation after a recent pullback and strong real‑estate/operating performance — a catalyst for renewed buying interest. Oppenheimer Upgrades Blackstone NYSE: BX to Outperform
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets published a bullish forecast pointing to strong price appreciation potential, adding another institutional endorsement that can support flows into the shares. BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Blackstone NYSE: BX Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s reports that private‑credit markets look calm, which reinforces expectations for stable fee generation, fundraising and NAV stability across Blackstone’s credit platforms. Private Credit Looks Calm. Why Blackstone and Ares Stocks Are Starting to Climb.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Blackstone has teamed with I Squared Capital to pursue Ströer’s core advertising business — a move that would expand European media exposure and diversify asset mix, potentially supporting AUM growth. Blackstone Eyes Stroer Deal As European Media Role Expands
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone executives urge investors to separate “signal from the noise” on private credit — reassuring but also flagging client questions about transparency, loan losses and sector exposures to monitor. Blackstone's Joan Solotar says investors should separate ‘signal from the noise' in private credit
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage assessing BX valuation notes a recent ~20% 90‑day pullback; that weakness created the valuation case analysts cite for upgrades but remains a background risk if macro or credit stress reappears. Assessing Blackstone (BX) Valuation After Oppenheimer Upgrade And Recent Share Price Pullback

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 25,832 shares in the company, valued at $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on BX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Blackstone from $158.00 to $118.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on Blackstone from $158.00 to $138.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.55.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $130.25 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.21. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.69 earnings per share. Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $1.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 153.61%.

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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