Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Shares Down 4.4% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) were down 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $176.20 and last traded at $177.18. Approximately 1,544,495 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 2,827,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.38.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on BX shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.56.

Blackstone Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $128.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $180.92 and a 200 day moving average of $161.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Inc. will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,020,426 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,597,028,000 after purchasing an additional 348,751 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,896,413 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,272,227,000 after purchasing an additional 336,308 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 15,357.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,201,150 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,433,220,000 after purchasing an additional 4,173,971 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,931,411 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $602,017,000 after purchasing an additional 61,739 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 3.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,430,909 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $525,375,000 after acquiring an additional 116,367 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.