Waverly Advisors LLC Purchases 10,778 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 138,051 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 10,778 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $15,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 11.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 5,094 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 605.8% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 100,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,596,000 after acquiring an additional 86,557 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.4% during the first quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 34,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at about $164,597,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BX. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.76.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $1.52 versus expectations around $1.33-$1.34 and revenue of $5.04 billion versus $3.42 billion expected, signaling better-than-expected operating performance. Blackstone Inc. (BX) Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Assets under management hit a record $1.35 trillion, helped by nearly $70 billion in quarterly inflows, which suggests Blackstone continues to attract capital even in a tougher fundraising environment. Blackstone’s quarterly profit gets boost from asset pile, AI investment gains
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted that AI-related investments are starting to pay off, with gains across data centers, infrastructure, credit, and private markets boosting profit and growth prospects. BX Q2 Earnings Call Highlights AI Strategy & Fundraising Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Blackstone to $169 from $161 and kept an outperform rating, underscoring improved analyst confidence in the stock. Analyst price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Blackstone is also in the final bidding for yacht retailer MarineMax, a potential acquisition that could expand its deal flow, though the impact on earnings is still uncertain. Blackstone, Donerail among final bidders for yacht retailer MarineMax, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, which is supportive for income-focused investors, but this is a smaller near-term driver than the earnings beat and AI-related growth narrative. Dividend announcement

Blackstone Stock Down 0.2%

Blackstone stock opened at $129.72 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $120.33 and a 200-day moving average of $124.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 103.80%.

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.