NEOS Investment Management LLC Acquires 16,947 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• NEOS Investment Management increased its Blackstone stake by 16.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 16,947 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 122,455 shares valued at approximately $14.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70% of Blackstone.
• Blackstone reported second-quarter earnings of $1.52 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.34, while revenue rose 35.9% year over year to $5.04 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, equivalent to a 3.8% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $149.43; Oppenheimer recently raised its target to $171 and assigned an “outperform” rating.

NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Free Report) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,455 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 16,947 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Blackstone were worth $14,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,024,000 after buying an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $67,703,000 after purchasing an additional 8,655 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX opened at $136.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.56. The business's 50-day moving average is $132.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.14. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total value of $6,619,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone acquired 272,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $7,126,861.88. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 8,704,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,533,512.66. This represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and have sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.43.

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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