Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $184.34 and last traded at $183.85, with a volume of 432279 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $181.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.63.

Blackstone Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $131.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.31.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $53,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,692 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone by 936.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,958 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 5,383 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $557,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,364,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.