Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $187.12 and last traded at $185.23, with a volume of 174456 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $184.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on BX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.63.

Blackstone Stock Up 5.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $140.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $164.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.94.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 118.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BX. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Blackstone by 12,192.7% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 7,340,845 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $908,797,000 after purchasing an additional 7,281,128 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 15,357.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,201,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $6,433,220,000 after buying an additional 4,173,971 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 19,048.1% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,883,409 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $247,423,000 after buying an additional 1,873,573 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Blackstone by 213.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,375,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $170,345,000 after buying an additional 937,084 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Blackstone by 468.4% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,107,547 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $137,114,000 after buying an additional 912,685 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.