Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $184.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $184.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $158.00 to $138.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $154.00.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of BX stock opened at $128.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.74. Blackstone has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company’s revenue was up 41.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone will post 6.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.49 per share. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 153.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at $487,129,914.25. The trade was a 18.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Tactical Opportunit Blackstone sold 1,596,142 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $15,961,420.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the third quarter worth about $9,116,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its position in Blackstone by 1.9% during the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,270,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $217,083,000 after purchasing an additional 24,237 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 20.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 840,401 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,582,000 after buying an additional 142,479 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,133,197 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 346,318 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $58,337,000 after buying an additional 7,053 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone was singled out as a top Q4 performer in an industry earnings review, highlighting stronger-than-peer results that reinforce the firm’s earnings momentum and fee-generation story. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Jersey Mike’s Subs — a portfolio company backed by Blackstone — filed confidentially for an IPO, creating a potential near‑term liquidity/event risk that could be a valuation catalyst for BX if sizing and timing are attractive. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Independent bullish research is in the market — 24/7 Wall St. is projecting a roughly $140 price target and a BUY view, signaling some investors still see upside as the recovery continues. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: A separate note raised BX’s target to $142, adding incremental support that some analysts view the pullback as a buying opportunity. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target from $215 to $184 but kept an Overweight rating — a mixed signal: lower near-term valuation math but ongoing conviction in long‑term upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC modestly cut its target (from $179 to $176) while keeping an Outperform — another small downward tweak that likely reflects macro/valuation inputs rather than a change to the fundamental thesis. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage noting S&P 500 index signals and positioning shifts may be influencing flows into/away from large-cap asset managers like BX but without clear directional news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: A non-company press release used the name “Blackstone” for a roofing shingle product — irrelevant to BX fundamentals but potentially noisy in search/coverage. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: J.P. Morgan moved to a Hold on BX, which can sap momentum since it reduces buy-side conviction from a major broker. Read More.

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.