Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.50.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BX. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Argus lifted their price objective 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. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. 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 research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 573,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $15,000,006.10. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,455,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,118,071.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $12,380,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 771,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,523,956.20. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders acquired 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $214,000. Eastern Bank grew its position in Blackstone by 7.5% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 10,822 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 4,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 9,221 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its position in Blackstone by 5.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,877 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $113.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.17. The company has a market cap of $85.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.59. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $101.73 and a 52 week high of $169.21.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.98 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.44%.

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.