BMO Capital Markets Cuts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $126.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target cut by BMO Capital Markets from $165.00 to $126.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the subject of several other reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $178.00 to $174.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.00.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE BX opened at $109.45 on Tuesday. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $81.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.81.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 153.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total value of $26,246,039.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This trade represents a 99.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. The trade was a 18.20% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong intra?quarter realization update suggests portfolio monetizations and fee?generating activity remain healthy, supporting near?term earnings visibility. Blackstone Issues Strong Q1 Intra-Quarter Realization Update
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic investments: $250M in a UAE payments/data firm signals confidence in growth markets and expands Blackstone’s fintech/data exposure. Blackstone invests $250 million in UAE despite war disruption
• Positive Sentiment: High?profile asset buy: Blackstone?backed consortium paid ~$1.78B for an Indian Premier League team (RCB), a marquee, fee?earning/asset diversification move with potential brand and returns upside. Birla, Blitzer, Blackstone, Times of India consortium to buy IPL team RCB for $1.78 bln
• Positive Sentiment: Real estate growth plan: Reports that Blackstone plans to invest ~$15B in Japanese property over three years signal large deployment dry powder and long?term fee and carry potential. Blackstone plans to invest $15B in Japanese property over three years – report
• Positive Sentiment: Notable share purchase reported (2,868,069 shares), which can be perceived as supportive of price and insider/affiliate conviction. Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone Purchases 2,868,069 Shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative coverage vs. KKR highlights relative strengths (scale, fee?model) and risks (private credit exposure); useful for longer?term allocation decisions but not an immediate catalyst. BX vs. KKR: Which is a Smarter Bet as Private Credit Markets Tighten?
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly earnings preview pieces outline what to watch in upcoming results — useful context ahead of official releases. Blackstone’s quarterly earnings preview: What you need to know
• Negative Sentiment: Private?credit stress: reports of rising defaults, redemptions and capped fund exits are pressuring sentiment for managers with large credit franchises — a key reason for recent BX share weakness. Private credit’s ‘zero-loss fantasy’ is coming to an end as defaults and fund exits rise
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentary note recent share?price declines and fundraising/deployment scrutiny, keeping near?term downside risk if private credit or fundraising trends worsen. Is It Too Late To Consider Blackstone (BX) After Recent Share Price Weakness?

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.