The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $170.63 Million Investment in Blackstone Inc. $BX

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 1.45 million Blackstone shares worth approximately $170.63 million, giving it a 0.19% stake; institutional investors collectively own 70% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Blackstone receiving an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $147.95.
• Blackstone beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.52 in EPS and $5.04 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $1.29 per share, or a 3.6% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired 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 institutional investor acquired 1,450,070 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $170,630,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.19% of Blackstone as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.95.

Blackstone Price Performance

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

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 115.44%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $9,359,783.04. This represents a 12.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 1,611,822 shares of company stock valued at $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares valued at $40,331,085. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Company 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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