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

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $171.13.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $762,000. Thoma Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $800,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 23,986 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,136,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the period. Finally, Tableaux LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth approximately $304,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $138.26 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $160.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

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.