Brokerages Set Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) PT at $157.63

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $157.63.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BX opened at $189.02 on Tuesday. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $106.00 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.96, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.63 and a 200-day moving average of $144.38.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,357,529 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $211,082,000 after purchasing an additional 39,394 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 3rd quarter valued at about $240,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.3% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 31,635 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,844,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,501,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,523 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.