Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $164.00 to $126.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Blackstone traded as low as $109.25 and last traded at $113.9020, with a volume of 1110363 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $113.37.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on BX. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Blackstone from $166.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone acquired 1,146,789 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.16 per share, with a total value of $30,000,000.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 16,716,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $437,297,073.84. This represents a 7.37% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $15,961,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,161 shares in the company, valued at $21,610. This represents a 99.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Blackstone by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,394,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,796 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,197 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $83.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $143.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.45.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 20.89%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $1.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 153.61%.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.