First Manhattan CO. LLC. Has $19.16 Million Position in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC significantly boosted its position in Blackstone Inc. by 301.7% in Q1, acquiring a total of 137,089 shares worth approximately $19.2 million.
• Blackstone announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.03, marking a yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 110.75%.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Blackstone, with Piper Sandler raising their target from $157 to $181 and Deutsche Bank increasing theirs from $170 to $192, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 301.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,089 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 102,959 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Blackstone were worth $19,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BX. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 14,608.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322,598 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $184,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,606 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,997,581 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,504,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,949 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth about $151,524,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,292,320 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $739,761,000 after purchasing an additional 742,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 136.9% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,270,233 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $177,544,000 after purchasing an additional 734,109 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.0%

BX traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $169.94. 3,110,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,172,223. The stock has a market cap of $125.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.77. Blackstone Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $167.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.83% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total transaction of $8,829,594.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 737,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $128,015,742.72. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 222 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $170.29 per share, with a total value of $37,804.38. Following the purchase, the director owned 38,753 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,599,248.37. This represents a 0.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 1,189,806 shares of company stock valued at $30,046,627 and have sold 16,850,134 shares valued at $131,641,986. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.