Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX traded down $1.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $118.40. The stock had a trading volume of 4,161,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,894,347. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.47 and a 200 day moving average of $117.74. The stock has a market cap of $84.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $79.92 and a 52-week high of $133.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer downgraded Blackstone from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.92.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total value of $6,268,570.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at $50,294,783.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 28,852 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.05, for a total value of $3,694,498.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 982,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,773,399.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total value of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 393,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,294,783.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RMB Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 4,531 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 7,187 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $941,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,812 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 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.