Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 73,658 Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors acquired 73,658 Blackstone shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $8.7 million. Institutional investors now own about 70% of the company.
• Blackstone exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.52 in EPS versus the $1.34 consensus and $5.04 billion in revenue, up 35.9% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, implying a 3.6% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $147.95, compared with the stock’s reported price of $143.66.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 73,658 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $8,667,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Up 0.2%

BX opened at $143.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $107.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The business's 50-day moving average price is $129.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.Blackstone's revenue for the quarter was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $1,379,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 64,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone bought 272,642 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

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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