Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target Lowered to $158.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $166.00 to $158.00 in a research note released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the topic of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $187.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.33.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $142.35 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.81. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.12 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.75.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $1.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 132.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 324 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the acquisition, the director owned 39,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,741,192.84. The trade was a 0.84% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 385,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.96 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,999.68. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 16,332,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $424,001,642.68. This represents a 2.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have purchased a total of 783,978 shares of company stock valued at $22,058,454 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arcus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% during the second quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,937 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the second quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 2,993 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Blackstone reported EPS of $1.75 and revenue of $4.36B, both topping estimates; record AUM and large inflows underpinned results and demonstrate momentum in deals, fees and infrastructure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — BX declared a quarterly dividend of $1.49 (15.5% increase vs. prior quarter), implying a ~4.2% yield and signaling management confidence and stronger cash return to shareholders. (Company release)
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish analyst notes — TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” and set a $183 target; Citizens Jmp kept a “market outperform” with a $195 target, both signaling sizable upside from current levels. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management/sector commentary — Blackstone highlighted AI-related investment as a major economic driver and continues to signal interest in data-center and infrastructure opportunities, which is strategic but longer-term. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor event scheduled — CFO Michael Chae will present at the BofA Financial Services Conference on Feb 10; investors should watch the webcast for additional color on capital deployment and fee trends. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts to neutral — JPMorgan trimmed its target from $176 to $158 and moved to “neutral,” signaling less conviction on near-term upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman trims target — Goldman cut its PT from $166 to $158 and maintained a “neutral” stance, adding to the pushback from some sell-side desks despite the beat. Read More.

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.