Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $176.32 and last traded at $175.36, with a volume of 67923 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $128.16 billion, a PE ratio of 60.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.49.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $53,455,000 after purchasing an additional 7,692 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,383 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter valued at $557,000. Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $1,364,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 11.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 54,159 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,705,000 after purchasing an additional 5,479 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.