Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Blackstone Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 20 research firms, with a consensus target price of approximately $180.26.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.03, reflecting an annual yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 110.75%.
• Insiders have been active, with significant purchases and sales, including a major shareholder buying over 2.5 million shares, resulting in a 51.09% increase in ownership of the stock.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $180.2632.

BX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Blackstone from $153.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Blackstone from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Blackstone from $215.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $158.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business's 50 day moving average is $171.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.68. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.48, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 20.83%.The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $1.03 dividend. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This is an increase from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is currently 110.75%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone bought 2,538,071 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.61 per share, with a total value of $64,999,998.31. Following the purchase, the insider owned 7,506,209 shares in the company, valued at $192,234,012.49. This represents a 51.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 113,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.69, for a total value of $19,852,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 695,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,237,547.33. The trade was a 13.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 2,538,345 shares of company stock worth $65,046,628 and have sold 16,984,634 shares worth $155,181,346. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BX. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other 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.

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