Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Shares Break Below 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $118.93 and traded as low as $118.46. Blackstone shares last traded at $118.5810, with a volume of 2,883,807 shares changing hands.

Key Blackstone News

Investors following BX have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Ruth Porat disclosed two purchases on November 9 totaling 453 shares for about $54,700. The buying may be viewed as a vote of confidence, though the purchases were modest relative to her reported holdings. SEC ownership filing
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone will provide Pfizer up to $1.5 billion to support development of an investigational obesity drug. The deal offers potential exposure to a large healthcare market, although returns depend on the drug’s development and commercial prospects. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical analysis said BX’s broader bullish setup remains intact but selling pressure is testing a breakout. Another report described performance as mixed, with recent monthly gains but weaker year-to-date returns. Technical analysis

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.57.

Blackstone Stock Down 2.8%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $118.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.90. The stock has a market cap of $89.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Blackstone had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 23.16%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a negative change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 2nd. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 99.56%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $12,380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 771,599 shares in the company, valued at $95,523,956.20. This represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $11,077,261.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,392.80. This represents a 99.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 464,790 shares of company stock worth $12,198,198 and have sold 3,992,776 shares worth $25,507,509. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $6,112,162,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth about $1,364,373,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter valued at about $605,267,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 8.0% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,520,908 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $519,859,000 after buying an additional 333,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,353,274 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $512,250,000 after buying an additional 52,755 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc. is a global alternative asset manager that invests on behalf of institutional and individual investors. Its businesses span private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, and multi-asset investing, with strategies that include private funds and investment products for a range of clients. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the firm initially focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory work before expanding into investment management.