Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Blackstone shares rose above their 200-day moving average of $123.91, reaching $126.68 during Wednesday trading and last trading at $125.61.
• Blackstone beat quarterly EPS estimates with $1.32 versus $1.26 expected, but revenue of $3.06 billion missed consensus and declined 0.8% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $144.57.
• The company cut its quarterly dividend to $1.12 per share from $1.29, equivalent to an annualized $4.48 and a 3.6% yield.

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $123.91 and traded as high as $126.68. Blackstone shares last traded at $125.6130, with a volume of 6,684,003 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BX shares. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $122.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, HSBC restated a "hold" rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $144.57.

Blackstone Trading Up 6.3%

The stock has a market cap of $94.29 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.16% and a net margin of 22.11%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a negative change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 99.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 272,642 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $7,126,861.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 8,704,419 shares in the company, valued at $227,533,512.66. This trade represents a 3.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.11, for a total transaction of $6,619,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 516,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,911,260.87. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 464,792 shares of company stock worth $12,205,945 and sold 4,047,276 shares worth $33,507,144. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth about $221,478,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,667,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 245,370 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,873,000 after buying an additional 11,983 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 23,206 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,615,000 after buying an additional 10,489 shares during the period. Finally, Matrix Private Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc NYSE: BX is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment and advisory services to institutional investors, companies, and qualified individual investors. The company manages capital across private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, hedge fund solutions, secondaries, and growth-oriented investments.

Blackstone invests in and manages portfolios of businesses, properties, infrastructure assets, and credit instruments across a range of industries.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.