Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $132.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $136.00 to $132.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. HSBC lowered their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $131.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.33.

Blackstone Stock Up 1.3%

BX stock opened at $128.73 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $119.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $95.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.58. Blackstone has a one year low of $101.73 and a one year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 118.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 19,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $113,169,363.51. This represents a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 3,588 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,748 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,935 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 2,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.1% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 3,453 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Key Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces highlight Blackstone’s upcoming quarterly report and suggest the company may beat earnings expectations again, reinforcing bullish sentiment ahead of results. Blackstone Inc. (BX) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone also drew favorable attention for earnings momentum and dividend appeal, with commentary pointing to strong fee-related earnings, large assets under management, and a solid yield profile that may keep income-focused investors interested. Blackstone: The Largest Data Center Investor Is On Sale Yielding 3.8%
• Positive Sentiment: News that Blackstone is building a new APAC infrastructure platform and hiring a senior executive from KKR supports the company’s growth strategy and signals continued expansion in infrastructure investing. Blackstone creates new APAC infrastructure platform, hires Momaya from KKR
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan lowered its price target on Blackstone to $132 from $136 and kept a neutral rating, which suggests some caution but still implies modest upside from the current share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC Capital also reiterated a buy view on Blackstone, while other commentary around real estate and AI-related ventures adds to the broader narrative but does not appear to be a major immediate catalyst. RBC Capital Remains a Buy on Blackstone Group (BX)

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.