Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $172.38.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Blackstone Trading Down 4.1 %

NYSE:BX opened at $139.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.56 billion, a PE ratio of 38.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.26.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Old North State Trust LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 8,124 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,178 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at $1,747,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 26,947 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.