Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. Acquires Shares of 25,244 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 25,244 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $2,903,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in Blackstone by 14.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $173.00 to $161.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.33.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $128.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $95.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone Inc. has a 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.67%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total transaction of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces highlight Blackstone’s upcoming quarterly report and suggest the company may beat earnings expectations again, reinforcing bullish sentiment ahead of results. Blackstone Inc. (BX) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone also drew favorable attention for earnings momentum and dividend appeal, with commentary pointing to strong fee-related earnings, large assets under management, and a solid yield profile that may keep income-focused investors interested. Blackstone: The Largest Data Center Investor Is On Sale Yielding 3.8%
• Positive Sentiment: News that Blackstone is building a new APAC infrastructure platform and hiring a senior executive from KKR supports the company’s growth strategy and signals continued expansion in infrastructure investing. Blackstone creates new APAC infrastructure platform, hires Momaya from KKR
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target on Blackstone to $132 from $136 and kept a neutral rating, which suggests some caution but still implies modest upside from the current share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital also reiterated a buy view on Blackstone, while other commentary around real estate and AI-related ventures adds to the broader narrative but does not appear to be a major immediate catalyst. RBC Capital Remains a Buy on Blackstone Group (BX)

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.