Oppenheimer Cuts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $139.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target reduced by Oppenheimer from $156.00 to $139.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.52.

Blackstone Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $126.96 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $101.73 and a 52-week high of $190.09. The stock has a market cap of $94.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.70.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 earnings per share. Blackstone’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares in the company, valued at $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Treasury Holdings I. Blackstone purchased 9,486,795 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, with a total value of $189,735,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,111,800 shares in the company, valued at $182,236,000. This trade represents a -2,529.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 99.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $983,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178,133 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $164,597,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $417,620,000 after buying an additional 1,249,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 476.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $204,193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,307 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Blackstone

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is expanding its alternatives platform in Asia-Pacific by launching a new India infrastructure platform and hiring Ami Momaya from KKR to lead the effort, a move that could support long-term growth in the region. Blackstone creates new APAC infrastructure platform, hires Momaya from KKR
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is also tied to the launch of Ode, an AI services company developed with Anthropic and other investors, which reinforces the firm’s exposure to AI and infrastructure investing themes. Is Blackstone (BX) Quietly Rewriting Its AI and Infrastructure Playbook With Ode and India?
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentary pieces say Blackstone remains positioned to beat upcoming earnings estimates, with Wall Street expecting earnings growth and the company cited for strong earnings and price momentum. Why Blackstone Inc. (BX) is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target on Blackstone to $132 from $136 but kept a neutral rating, signaling a more cautious near-term outlook rather than a bearish call. Blackstone price target lowered by JPMorgan
• Neutral Sentiment: Oppenheimer also cut its price target to $139 from $156, though it maintained an outperform rating, suggesting analysts still see upside from current levels despite trimming expectations. Blackstone price target lowered by Oppenheimer
• Negative Sentiment: The recent target cuts from major brokers may be weighing on sentiment today, even though both firms still see upside and have not turned outright bearish on Blackstone.

About Blackstone

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.