Piper Sandler Lowers Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to Neutral

Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $149.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an overweight rating and a $163.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a neutral rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $153.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $88.59 and a fifty-two week high of $161.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.13. The stock has a market cap of $109.37 billion, a PE ratio of 54.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. Blackstone’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 115.90%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.