Brokerages Set Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) PT at $156.65

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine 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 $156.65.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $139.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock traded up $2.13 on Wednesday, hitting $158.48. 3,773,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,865,609. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $115.66 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.07.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 19.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 237 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $136.33 per share, for a total transaction of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 37,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,053,344.11. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 475,336 shares in the company, valued at $65,819,775.92. The trade was a 5.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $974,448,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 14,608.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322,598 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $184,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,606 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,997,581 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,504,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $151,524,000. 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.