Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 840,258 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.2%, acquiring 840,258 shares to own 71,667,695 shares (about 9.71%) valued at roughly $11.05 billion.
• Blackstone beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.36 vs. $1.34; revenue $3.62B vs. $3.45B), reported record fee‑earning AUM, and declared a $1.16 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.8%) with a dividend payout ratio of ~118.7%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a $151.36 consensus price target, though several firms have recently trimmed their price objectives.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.71% of Blackstone worth $11,046,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Blackstone by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,362,796 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,358,334,000 after buying an additional 412,281 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,251,474,000 after purchasing an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,677,997 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $799,236,000 after purchasing an additional 145,056 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 11.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,107,665 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $701,795,000 after buying an additional 416,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,274,182 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $559,948,000 after buying an additional 88,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $156.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $138.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.36.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BX stock opened at $121.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.74. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $116.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.16.

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. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 6.12 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 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

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 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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