Aureus Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Aureus Asset Management boosted its Blackstone stake by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 12,310 shares to reach 250,991 shares valued at about $38.7 million.
• Blackstone remains widely held by institutions, with 70% of the stock owned by institutional investors; several large firms, including Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and Norges Bank, also increased positions.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.36, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 10% year over year. Blackstone also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.16 per share, implying a 3.7% annualized yield.

Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 250,991 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 12,310 shares during the quarter. Blackstone accounts for approximately 2.5% of Aureus Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Aureus Asset Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $38,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after acquiring an additional 840,258 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 636,613 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after acquiring an additional 179,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Blackstone by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after acquiring an additional 329,379 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Blackstone from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.86.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the purchase, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $487,129,914.25. This represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 12,355,303 shares of company stock worth $264,789,896 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.3%

BX stock opened at $124.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $120.76 and its 200 day moving average is $130.56. The stock has a market cap of $92.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

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.

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