Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.53.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet cut Blackstone from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $124.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Blackstone in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $118.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Blackstone from $120.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $130.96 on Thursday. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $79.29 and a 52-week high of $133.56. The stock has a market cap of $93.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.32 and its 200 day moving average is $115.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The asset manager reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.16. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 17.34%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.92 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 205.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 28,852 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.05, for a total value of $3,694,498.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 982,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $125,773,399.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Fairfield Bush & CO. increased its stake in Blackstone by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 8,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 18,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,341,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 38,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,878,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.