The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $118.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $158.00 to $118.00 in a research note released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Blackstone from $165.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays cut their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Evercore cut their target price on Blackstone from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Blackstone from $168.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.43.

Blackstone Stock Up 4.3%

NYSE BX opened at $117.61 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $87.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.74. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $190.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given 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 dividend yield of 5.1%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 153.61%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 2,868,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $487,129,914.25. This represents a 18.20% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. REAP Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter worth $26,000. Family CFO Inc bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone closed its flagship opportunistic credit vehicle, COF V, at over $10 billion (hard cap), showing strong investor demand for BX’s credit platform and supporting fee-earning and AUM growth. BusinessWire: Fund Close
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone is part of a consortium that agreed to buy UK aerospace supplier Senior plc for ~£1.4B, demonstrating continued deal-sourcing and deployment capacity that can generate transaction fees and potential value uplift. Reuters: Senior Plc Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary and investor write-ups are flagging BX as a potential value play (Seeking Alpha articles arguing the shares look discounted and highlighting dividend yield and fee franchise strength), which can attract long-only and dividend-focused buyers. Seeking Alpha: Discounted Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Barron’s notes that new private-credit funds are still being launched even as industry redemptions rise — a mixed backdrop that highlights both fundraising durability at firms like BX and broader category headwinds. Barron’s: Private Credit Context
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio/strategy commentary (ClearBridge) points to resiliency in BX’s business through market volatility — supportive for longer-term holders but not an immediate catalyst. Yahoo/Close: ClearBridge Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell-side firms trimmed price targets and kept neutral/hold stances (Jefferies cut PT to $143 but kept buy, Barclays to $124 equal weight, Piper Sandler cut to $122 neutral, Goldman lowered to $118 and kept a hold) — these actions can cap upside and weigh on sentiment. MarketScreener: Jefferies MarketScreener: Barclays Benzinga: Piper Sandler AmericanBankingNews: Goldman
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage notes BX has lost significant value over six months (~32% decline), a backdrop that can amplify volatility and make some investors cautious. Yahoo: Share Decline

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.