Blackstone (NYSE:BX) PT Raised to $160.00 at UBS Group

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at UBS Group from $140.00 to $160.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 0.67% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.47.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock traded up $2.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $158.93. The stock had a trading volume of 716,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,396,820. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $144.76 and its 200 day moving average is $132.48. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $88.59 and a twelve month high of $161.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.58 billion, a PE ratio of 56.06, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total transaction of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,113 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,931 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 10,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 516 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.