Recent Investment Analysts’ Ratings Changes for Blackstone (BX)

Several brokerages have updated their recommendations and price targets on shares of Blackstone (NYSE: BX) in the last few weeks:

• 12/24/2024 – Blackstone was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 12/23/2024 – Blackstone had its price target raised by analysts at Piper Sandler from $168.00 to $179.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 12/20/2024 – Blackstone had its price target raised by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $169.00 to $175.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
• 12/19/2024 – Blackstone had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $134.00 to $157.00. They now have a “market perform” rating on the stock.
• 12/12/2024 – Blackstone was downgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating. They now have a $195.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $188.00.
• 12/9/2024 – Blackstone had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $174.00 to $199.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 12/9/2024 – Blackstone was upgraded by analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $230.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $149.00.
• 11/11/2024 – Blackstone had its price target raised by analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $172.00 to $182.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $175.69 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $179.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.95. Blackstone Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.88 and a 52 week high of $200.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.85 billion, a PE ratio of 60.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.96%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

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

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Blackstone by 32.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.