Brokerages Set Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Price Target at $149.43

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $149.4286.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BX. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. HSBC reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. 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 report on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of Blackstone stock opened at $129.04 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $96.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone purchased 765,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.14 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000,001.54. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.55, for a total transaction of $4,066,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 869,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,883,632.95. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 1,611,822 shares of company stock worth $42,189,294 and sold 7,562,000 shares worth $40,331,085. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brogan Financial Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 3,997 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment management and advisory services to institutions, corporations, and individual investors. The company invests across multiple asset classes, including private equity, real estate, credit, infrastructure, insurance solutions, and hedge fund solutions.

Its investment activities include acquiring and managing businesses, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, and credit investments.