Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price Down 5.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Blackstone shares fell 5.6% to $125.40 on Thursday, trading as low as $126.00 on volume roughly 74% below the stock's average daily trading level.
• The firm delivered a strong quarter—$1.75 EPS vs. $1.54 expected and $4.36B revenue (up 41.4% YoY)—and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.49 (a 4.7% yield), though the dividend payout ratio is high at about 153.6%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold with a $171.76 average price target, while individual firms range from Deutsche Bank's $185 "Buy" to multiple recent price-target cuts and neutrals.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 5.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $126.00 and last traded at $125.40. Approximately 1,428,654 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 5,549,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price target on Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $176.00 to $158.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.76.

Blackstone Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $148.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.41, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.21. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The business had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. Blackstone's quarterly revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 384,468 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.01 per share, for a total transaction of $10,000,012.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,525,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,818,293.17. This represents a 2.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,610. The trade was a 99.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,667,695 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,046,859,000 after purchasing an additional 840,258 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 32,862,165 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,065,374,000 after acquiring an additional 636,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,542,009 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,861,885,000 after purchasing an additional 179,213 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,542,863 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,462,706,000 after buying an additional 227,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $1,275,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone's business is organized around several principal investment platforms.

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