Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 62.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,185 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $129.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $120.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.84. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.85 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

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

Key Blackstone News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.76.

About Blackstone

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.