Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Shares Down 5.6% – Time to Sell?

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) dropped 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $126.00 and last traded at $125.40. Approximately 1,428,654 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 5,549,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $171.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus lowered their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore reduced their target price on Blackstone from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.76.

Blackstone Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.74 and its 200 day moving average is $157.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $1.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 153.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 384,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.01 per share, for a total transaction of $10,000,012.68. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 16,525,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,818,293.17. The trade was a 2.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the third quarter worth $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Family CFO Inc purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% 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.