The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 29,192 Shares of Blackstone Inc. $BX

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 393,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 29,192 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.05% of Blackstone worth $45,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,046,859,000 after buying an additional 840,258 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Blackstone by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $5,065,374,000 after purchasing an additional 636,613 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,324,989 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,251,474,000 after buying an additional 329,379 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is acquiring DarkVision Technologies from Koch Engineered Solutions through funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners. DarkVision’s AI-powered ultrasound imaging is used to inspect critical industrial infrastructure, expanding Blackstone’s exposure to infrastructure technology, energy transition and industrial reliability. Blackstone Energy Transition Partners Announces Agreement to Acquire DarkVision from Koch Engineered Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: HSBC agreed to sell Blackstone its A$36 billion Australian home and personal loan portfolio, worth approximately US$25.3 billion. The transaction supports Blackstone’s expansion in Australian private credit and marks HSBC’s exit from retail banking in the country, although financial terms and closing details were not disclosed. HSBC to sell $25.3 billion Australian home loan portfolio to Blackstone
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone’s latest quarterly results showed strong operating momentum: earnings per share reached $1.52 versus a $1.34 consensus estimate, revenue rose 36% year over year to $5.04 billion, and assets under management increased 11% to $1.35 trillion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.29 from $1.16. Blackstone’s Profit Jumped 26% on AI Bets but the Stock Barely Moved
• Neutral Sentiment: A major Blackstone shareholder purchased 573,614 shares, increasing its position by 7.28%. The purchase may signal insider confidence, but it is unlikely to materially alter the company’s fundamentals. Blackstone Major Shareholder Acquires Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong earnings and AI-related investment activity, analysts and valuation checks suggest BX may already be fully priced or trading at a premium. That concern appears to be muting the market’s response to the company’s otherwise favorable results. Blackstone Stock May Be Fully Priced as Q2 AI Profit Jumps

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Blackstone from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Thirteen investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.95.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE BX opened at $128.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Blackstone Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $121.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.84.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 103.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. This represents a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 355 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $123.04 per share, for a total transaction of $43,679.20. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 41,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,286.72. The trade was a 0.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 10,825,959 shares of company stock valued at $224,789,900. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.