Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BX. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.5 %

BX stock opened at $176.92 on Friday. Blackstone has a one year low of $115.82 and a one year high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.80, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.4% during the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 32.1% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.