Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.65.

A number of research firms have issued reports on BX. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total transaction of $3,461,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This represents a 5.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 237 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.33 per share, with a total value of $32,310.21. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 37,067 shares in the company, valued at $5,053,344.11. This represents a 0.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth $28,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Trading Down 3.1%

NYSE BX opened at $136.37 on Friday. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $115.66 and a twelve month high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $99.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $136.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.85.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Blackstone's payout ratio is presently 112.05%.

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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