Ruth Porat Acquires 371 Shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Director Ruth Porat purchased 371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.17 per share, for a total transaction of $50,890.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,787,065.13. This trade represents a 0.89% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ruth Porat also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 10th, Ruth Porat bought 84 shares of Blackstone stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $137.32 per share, for a total transaction of $11,534.88.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $149.45 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $125.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.55. Blackstone Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.73 and a 1 year high of $190.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $112.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 21.84%.The company’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is currently 115.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Blackstone from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.95.

More Blackstone News

Here are the key news stories impacting Blackstone this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blackstone joined an alliance with NVIDIA and major financial institutions to fund global AI infrastructure, including large-scale data-center and compute platforms. The partnership could create new long-term financing and asset-management revenue opportunities as demand for AI capacity grows. Blackstone Joins Global AI Infrastructure Funding Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating on BX. Thirteen analysts rate the shares Buy and 11 rate them Hold, with an average price target of $147.95, indicating continued support from Wall Street despite mixed individual target changes. Blackstone Receives Moderate Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Ruth Porat purchased a combined 455 shares for roughly $62,400. The buying modestly increased her holdings and may signal confidence in Blackstone, but the transaction is too small to materially change the company’s investment outlook. Blackstone Insider Buying
• Negative Sentiment: A valuation analysis argues that BX could be about 26% above fair value based on intrinsic-value estimates and earnings multiples. Although AI data-center and energy-transition investments may improve long-term cash-flow expectations, the premium valuation raises the risk of limited upside or a pullback. Blackstone Stock Could Be Above Fair Value
• Negative Sentiment: Blackstone is reportedly considering abandoning a plan to raise approximately $3 billion of debt for a cash-return transaction. Scrapping the proposal could reduce near-term capital-return flexibility, although it may also avoid adding leverage. Blackstone Considers Scrapping Debt Plan
• Negative Sentiment: Two insiders sold a combined 54,500 shares worth about $8 million. Chief accounting officer David Payne reduced his position by 12.85%, while John G. Finley cut his holdings by 8.02%; the sales may weigh on sentiment despite potentially reflecting personal financial planning. Blackstone Insider Selling

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Family CFO Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the second quarter worth $30,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.