Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Invests $10.20 Million in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors opened a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter, buying 88,740 shares worth about $10.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 70% of Blackstone’s stock held by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Recent insider activity was also significant, including a large purchase by a Blackstone-related major shareholder.
• Blackstone reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.36 and revenue up 10% year over year, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $147.10.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 88,740 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $10,204,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 765,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,882,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $206,039,270.30. The trade was a 10.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,233.72. This represents a 99.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $122.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,568,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,830,672. The firm has a market cap of $91.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.58. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $119.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.95. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 118.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BX. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. HSBC decreased their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.10.

Trending Headlines about Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citizens JMP lifted its price target on Blackstone to $165 from $190 and kept an “outperform” view, signaling confidence that the shares still have meaningful upside from current levels. Blackstone NYSE: BX Given New $165.00 Price Target at Citizens Jmp
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone and TPG are reportedly seeking more than $4 billion for Hologic’s surgical unit, underscoring continued private-equity dealmaking activity and potential value creation from large asset sales or acquisitions. Blackstone, TPG seek over $4 billion for Hologic's surgical unit, FT says
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Barclays is preparing roughly $875 million of debt financing tied to a Blackstone takeover highlight active transaction flow that can support fees and investment returns for the firm. Market Chatter: Barclays Readies $875 Million Debt Sale for Blackstone's Senior Takeover
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays cut Blackstone’s price target to $119 from $124 and kept an “equal weight” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term view even as the target remains close to the current share price. Blackstone NYSE: BX Price Target Lowered to $119.00 at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate report said Apollo and Blackstone helped turn Broadcom’s and Anthropic’s AI chip financing into debt for other investors, which is notable but not directly a clear positive or negative catalyst for BX shares. Apollo and Blackstone just turned Broadcom, Anthropic's AI chip bet into somebody else's debt

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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