Citigroup Boosts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $190.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target increased by analysts at Citigroup from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.40% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on Blackstone from $192.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.13.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.5 %

Blackstone stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,873,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,000,057. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.95. The firm has a market cap of $127.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.53% and a net margin of 19.46%. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Sather Financial Group Inc raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 202.5% in the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 6,050 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth approximately $201,000. Aljian Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,169,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $179,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,343 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.