Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $150.8636.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st.

Blackstone Trading Down 2.5%

Blackstone stock opened at $120.12 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $89.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.59.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,233.72. The trade was a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone bought 9,486,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,236,000. The trade was a -2,529.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 9,487,234 shares of company stock worth $189,789,892 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 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.