Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 20,713 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 53% compared to the average volume of 13,524 call options.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have issued reports on BX. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $171.13.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on BX
Blackstone Price Performance
Shares of NYSE BX traded up $5.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $147.80. 4,055,335 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,455,964. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $107.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $159.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.61. 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 (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.
Blackstone Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Blackstone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.
Insider Activity at Blackstone
In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company's stock.
About Blackstone
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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