Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Receives $147.95 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.9524.

A number of analysts have issued reports on BX shares. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Blackstone Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of BX opened at $145.15 on Thursday. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The company has a market capitalization of $108.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.43. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business’s revenue was up 35.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 6 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total value of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 869,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO David Payne sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total transaction of $1,379,685.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,359,783.04. This trade represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 1,339,180 shares of company stock worth $35,062,433 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Palladiem LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.