Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Director Ruth Porat Purchases 324 Shares of Stock

Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) Director Ruth Porat bought 324 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.92 per share, for a total transaction of $47,602.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 39,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,741,192.84. This trade represents a 0.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

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

• On Monday, November 10th, Ruth Porat purchased 78 shares of Blackstone stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $143.40 per share, with a total value of $11,185.20.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Blackstone stock traded up $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $141.70. 1,872,406 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,162,675. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.75. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The stock has a market cap of $104.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.54.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 22nd. The asset manager reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.56% and a return on equity of 22.30%. Equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 147.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth $26,000. Traub Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BX shares. Dbs Bank raised Blackstone to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $178.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Blackstone from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Blackstone from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.00.

Blackstone Company Profile

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.