Morgan Stanley Boosts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $145.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $145.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BX. UBS Group upped their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Blackstone from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $119.97.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $123.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $79.92 and a 52-week high of $133.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $126.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.32, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.02). Blackstone had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 205.46%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 393,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,294,783.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,294,783.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 56.1% during the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,255 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $540,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 8,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.6% during the first quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 18,446 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 12.8% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 38,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,878,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.