Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Research Coverage Started at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an equal weight rating and a $122.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. HSBC restated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Argus boosted their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.50.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $111.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $132.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.17. Blackstone has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $170.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, major shareholder Holdings I. L.P. Blackstone sold 124,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.40, for a total transaction of $2,043,440.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $11,077,261.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,392.80. This trade represents a 99.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,038,406 shares of company stock valued at $27,205,951 and sold 4,077,276 shares valued at $37,573,644. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $6,112,162,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,861,885,000 after buying an additional 179,213 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,364,373,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth $605,267,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Funds managed by Blackstone agreed to acquire Applied Systems Engineering, expanding the firm’s portfolio and potentially creating another source of future investment gains. Financial terms were not disclosed. Applied Systems Engineering acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Market chatter indicates Blackstone is exploring an offer for drone-detection company Robin Radar in a possible $2.26 billion sale process, which could strengthen its exposure to defense and security technology if completed. Robin Radar sale process
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone announced a planned $1 billion investment to build a military technology company focused on counter-drone capabilities. The initiative offers long-term growth potential, though returns will depend on execution and demand. Defense technology investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an “equal weight” rating and a $122 price target, implying roughly 9% upside from the referenced price but signaling limited conviction relative to the broader market.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages collectively maintain a “Moderate Buy” rating, supported by a consensus target well above the current trading level; however, ratings remain mixed between Buy and Hold recommendations. Brokerage rating summary
• Negative Sentiment: UBS reiterated a “Neutral” view, citing lower realizations. Weaker realizations can reduce performance-related earnings and signal challenges in monetizing portfolio investments. UBS Blackstone rating
• Negative Sentiment: A reported major-shareholder transaction involved the sale of 3,767,776 shares, reducing that holder’s position by 99.57%. Although the filing’s reported price appears inconsistent with BX’s market price, the unusually large disposition may weigh on sentiment. Blackstone major-shareholder sale

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone’s businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.