Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases 22,419 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its Blackstone stake by 29.5% in the first quarter, buying 22,419 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 98,466 shares worth about $11.3 million.
• Blackstone continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with firms like Vanguard, Norges Bank, Capital Research Global Investors, and others holding large positions; overall, about 70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive: several firms adjusted price targets, and Blackstone currently has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $145.52, even as the stock traded down about 1.6% to $126.96.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,466 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 22,419 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $11,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Blackstone by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 476.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $204,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is expanding its alternatives platform in Asia-Pacific by launching a new India infrastructure platform and hiring Ami Momaya from KKR to lead the effort, a move that could support long-term growth in the region. Blackstone creates new APAC infrastructure platform, hires Momaya from KKR
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is also tied to the launch of Ode, an AI services company developed with Anthropic and other investors, which reinforces the firm’s exposure to AI and infrastructure investing themes. Is Blackstone (BX) Quietly Rewriting Its AI and Infrastructure Playbook With Ode and India?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces say Blackstone remains positioned to beat upcoming earnings estimates, with Wall Street expecting earnings growth and the company cited for strong earnings and price momentum. Why Blackstone Inc. (BX) is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target on Blackstone to $132 from $136 but kept a neutral rating, signaling a more cautious near-term outlook rather than a bearish call. Blackstone price target lowered by JPMorgan
• Neutral Sentiment: Oppenheimer also cut its price target to $139 from $156, though it maintained an outperform rating, suggesting analysts still see upside from current levels despite trimming expectations. Blackstone price target lowered by Oppenheimer
• Negative Sentiment: The recent target cuts from major brokers may be weighing on sentiment today, even though both firms still see upside and have not turned outright bearish on Blackstone.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Blackstone from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Blackstone from $116.00 to $114.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.52.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $126.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $94.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $119.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.90.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were given 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 yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 355 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $123.04 per share, with a total value of $43,679.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 41,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,145,286.72. This trade represents a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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