Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $123.91 and traded as high as $126.68. Blackstone shares last traded at $125.6130, with a volume of 6,684,003 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Blackstone from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Blackstone from $164.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $126.00 target price on Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Blackstone from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.57.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.52.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.16% and a net margin of 22.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. This is a decrease from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 3,767,776 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.94, for a total transaction of $11,077,261.44. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,392.80. The trade was a 99.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $12,380,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 771,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,523,956.20. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 464,792 shares of company stock valued at $12,205,945 and have sold 4,047,276 shares valued at $33,507,144. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Hudock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 22,369 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 3,691 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp increased its position in Blackstone by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 2,625 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its position in Blackstone by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,323 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in Blackstone by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 18,572 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,082,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset manager that invests on behalf of institutional and individual investors. Its businesses span private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, and multi-asset investing, with strategies that include private funds and investment products for a range of clients.

Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the firm initially focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory work before expanding into investment management.