Ruth Porat Acquires 371 Shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) Director Ruth Porat acquired 371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 42,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,787,065.13. The trade was a 0.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ruth Porat also recently made the following trade(s):

  • On Monday, August 10th, Ruth Porat purchased 84 shares of Blackstone stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.32 per share, for a total transaction of $11,534.88.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of BX stock traded down $0.46 on Wednesday, hitting $146.71. The stock had a trading volume of 4,177,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,627,463. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.56. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. 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 has a market capitalization of $108.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.55.

Blackstone (NYSE:BXGet Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 100,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,561,000 after acquiring an additional 8,321 shares during the period. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at about $1,340,000. Benson Investment Management Company Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $5,856,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 92.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 807,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $92,817,000 after purchasing an additional 387,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: Blackstone and Quebec pension fund La Caisse agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty program for nearly $2 billion. The transaction expands Blackstone’s exposure to consumer and alternative-asset investments and could support future fee-related earnings. Blackstone, La Caisse to Buy 25% of Air Canada’s Aeroplan Loyalty Program
  • Positive Sentiment: A Blackstone-backed consortium is reportedly set to acquire 27 properties from H&R REIT, adding to the firm’s real-estate portfolio and creating potential management and investment-fee revenue. Blackstone Real Estate-Backed Consortium to Acquire 27 Properties From H&R REIT
  • Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is one of six financial firms partnering with Nvidia to help mobilize more than $500 billion for AI-infrastructure financing. The initiative could provide long-term origination, asset-management and financing opportunities, although returns will depend on execution and demand for AI capacity. Nvidia Targets Over $500 Billion for AI Infrastructure Financing
  • Neutral Sentiment: Director Ruth Porat purchased a combined 455 BX shares for roughly $62,400, modestly increasing her holdings. The purchases may signal confidence but are small relative to Blackstone’s market capitalization. Blackstone Insider Purchase Filing
  • Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate Blackstone is considering abandoning a plan to raise approximately $3 billion of debt to fund cash returns. Scrapping the proposal could reduce near-term financial flexibility for distributions and has added uncertainty around capital allocation. Blackstone Considers Scrapping $3B Stakes-for-Cash Deal
  • Negative Sentiment: Two insiders sold a combined 54,500 shares for about $8 million. Chief Accounting Officer David Payne reduced his position by 12.85%, while John G. Finley cut his holdings by 8.02%; the sales may weigh on sentiment, though insider transactions can reflect personal financial planning. Blackstone Insider Sale Filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BX. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

Read Our Latest Report on Blackstone

Blackstone Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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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