Insider Buying: Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Director Buys 301 Shares of Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $163.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.03. The company has a market capitalization of $118.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BX shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blackstone

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.