Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Blackstone from $170.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Dbs Bank upgraded Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Saturday, September 27th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.00.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of BX stock opened at $168.40 on Thursday. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.12 billion, a PE ratio of 45.27, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 110.75%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 50,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.64, for a total value of $8,829,594.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 737,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $128,015,742.72. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 2,538,071 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.61 per share, with a total value of $64,999,998.31. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,506,209 shares in the company, valued at $192,234,012.49. The trade was a 51.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 3,727,877 shares of company stock worth $95,046,625 and have sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Blackstone by 105.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,405 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 6,878 shares during the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $273,000. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 22.1% during the second quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 12,042 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 34.3% during the first quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 64,614 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $9,032,000 after acquiring an additional 16,486 shares during the period. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $423,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.