Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Shares Down 5.8% – Time to Sell?

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)’s stock price was down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $155.75 and last traded at $153.1610. Approximately 1,325,006 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 2,724,997 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $178.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC cut their target price on Blackstone from $179.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $177.00 to $176.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.89.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.6%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $149.32 and its 200 day moving average is $160.72. The company has a market cap of $116.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.30% and a net margin of 20.56%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 147.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $146.92 per share, with a total value of $47,602.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 39,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,741,192.84. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Breyer purchased 13,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $143.86 per share, with a total value of $1,999,654.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 68,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,912,817.16. The trade was a 25.27% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 797,148 shares of company stock valued at $24,050,153. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 519,669.1% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 70,132,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,490,411,000 after purchasing an additional 70,118,948 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,071,348,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,492,377 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,394,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,796 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Blackstone by 16,035.1% during the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,140,264 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $194,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,197 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 31.9% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,803,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $568,902,000 after purchasing an additional 919,773 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.