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

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $171.13.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup restated a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Blackstone Stock Down 9.0 %

Shares of NYSE BX traded down $13.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $134.38. The stock had a trading volume of 2,272,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,886,692. The company has a market capitalization of $98.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $158.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $115.82 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

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Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.4% in the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 11,426 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.