3. Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 51
Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) is an alternative asset management company that focuses on real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity, and multi-asset class strategies. The company has a preference for investing in early-stage businesses. Additionally, Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) provides capital markets services. It is one of the best asset management stocks to watch. On April 20, the company announced that it will pay a $0.82 per share quarterly dividend on May 8, to shareholders of record on May 1.
On April 21, Craig Siegenthaler, an analyst at BofA, increased the price target on Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) from $98 to $109 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares following the Q1 report. Despite a challenging fundraising environment, particularly for real estate debt and credit businesses, the firm expects Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) to raise more than $150 billion this year. BofA has also revised its EPS estimates for 2024 and 2025 upwards, primarily due to stronger fundraising.
According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 51 hedge funds were long Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX), compared to 61 funds in the last quarter. Thomas Steyer’s Farallon Capital is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with 3.2 million shares worth $241 million.
Aristotle Value Equity Strategy made the following comment about Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX), one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, was the leading detractor for the period. Shares of the company declined following the decision to limit withdrawals from its Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), which allows retail clients access to alternative investments (typically only available to institutions). While we will continue to study potential long-term impacts of this move, the monthly redemption limits are a mere 2% of the fund’s assets and, importantly, the structure of the fund is one of the reasons that attracted us to Blackstone. We believe lockup periods and redemption limits create stickier capital, while the evergreen nature of BREIT provides an edge over traditional alternative funds that require fundraising cycles. Just after quarter end, a large institution invested $4 billion in BREIT at current net asset value, providing what we view as a noteworthy endorsement of both the fund and firm as a whole. Moreover, we believe Blackstone’s track record of investment performance, as well as first-mover and distribution advantages, positions the firm well to further penetrate retail and private wealth channels.”
