Is Blackstone a Buy After Investment Firm Ascent Wealth Partners Initiated a Position in the Stock?

What happened

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated October 21, 2025, Ascent Wealth Partners, LLC reported a new position in Blackstone (NYSE:BX). The fund disclosed ownership of 51,697 shares, with a quarter-end market value of $8.83 million.

The stake amounts to 1.02% of Ascent's $862.10 million in reportable U.S. equity assets across 181 positions as of September 30, 2025.

What else to know

This is a newly established position, representing 1.02% of 13F reportable assets under management.

Ascent Wealth Partners' top holdings as of September 30, 2025 were:

• IWF: $75.13 million (8.7% of AUM)
• QQQ: $57.00 million (6.6% of AUM)
• AAPL: $38.90 million (4.5% of AUM)
• MDY: $37.93 million (4.4% of AUM)
• MSFT: $24.69 million (2.9% of AUM)

As of October 20, 2025, Blackstone shares were priced at $160.44, down 6.05% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 by 17.65 percentage points during that time period.

Company Overview

Company Snapshot

Blackstone Inc. is a leading global alternative asset manager with a diversified portfolio spanning real estate, private equity, credit, and hedge fund solutions.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

The company provides alternative asset management services, including real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, and multi-asset strategies.

It manages and invests capital across diverse asset classes for institutional and individual investors globally. Headquartered in New York, Blackstone has a global presence serving clients in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Foolish take

Ascent Wealth Partners' purchase of Blackstone stock is noteworthy for a few reasons. The move represented Ascent initiating a position in the company, and it was a big buy. Blackstone now represents 1% of Ascent's AUM, putting it among the firm's top 30 holdings out of nearly 200.

This suggests Ascent sees upside in Blackstone stock, which is a bold sentiment considering shares are down in 2025. The stock fell once again after the company released its third quarter earnings report.

Blackstone's Q3 revenue dropped to $3.1 billion from the prior year's $3.7 billion, and missed Wall Street analyst expectations. The sales slump contributed to a decline in Q3 diluted earnings per share to $0.80 from $1.02 in 2024.

Despite this, Blackstone is demonstrating strong performance in other key areas. It achieved a record AUM of $1.2 trillion in Q3, a 12% increase year over year. Its fee-related earnings, a crucial indicator of recurring revenue, reached $1.5 billion, representing 26% year-over-year growth.

These metrics show Blackstone's business is solid, and the company has delivered rising return on equity to shareholders over the past couple of years. These factors, and Blackstone's lower share price, may have been why Ascent decided to begin a position in the stock. With the dip in Blackstone's stock after Q3 earnings, now looks like a good time to buy.

Glossary

13F: A quarterly SEC filing required from institutional investment managers to disclose U.S. equity holdings.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of assets an investment firm manages on behalf of clients.
Alternative asset management: Investment management focused on non-traditional assets like real estate, private equity, hedge funds, or credit.
Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held by an investor or fund.
Stake: The ownership interest or share an investor holds in a company or asset.
Quarter-end: The last day of a fiscal quarter, used for reporting financial data.
Dividend yield: A financial ratio showing how much a company pays in dividends relative to its share price.
Hedge fund solutions: Investment strategies or products designed to provide access to hedge funds or similar approaches.
Credit (in asset management): Investments in debt securities, such as bonds or loans, managed for return and risk.
Multi-asset strategies: Investment approaches that allocate across various asset classes, like stocks, bonds, and alternatives.
Institutional investor: An organization, such as a fund or pension, that invests large sums of money professionally.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.

Robert Izquierdo has positions in Apple and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Blackstone, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.