Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target increased by research analysts at Barclays from $174.00 to $199.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.42% from the company’s current price.

BX has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.25.

Blackstone Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:BX opened at $187.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $172.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.20. The company has a market capitalization of $135.01 billion, a PE ratio of 64.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $111.70 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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 made changes to their positions in the company. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 11.7% in the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the second quarter worth $228,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 1.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 431,784 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $53,455,000 after buying an additional 7,692 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 10,827.3% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,944 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.