Morgan Stanley Raises Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $177.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $164.00 to $177.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BX. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Blackstone from $141.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $135.00.

Blackstone Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE BX opened at $153.04 on Thursday. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $88.59 and a 52 week high of $161.25. The stock has a market cap of $109.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.08, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.14.

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

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 115.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,567,311.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the first quarter worth $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is 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.