Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $157.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $134.00 to $157.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BX. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective for the company. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen raised shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

NYSE BX opened at $168.91 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.78. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $114.88 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.95 billion, a PE ratio of 58.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 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 (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.86 per share. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is currently 118.21%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter valued at $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 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.