Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $135.00 Price Target at Argus

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target boosted by Argus from $133.00 to $135.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the subject of a number of other reports. JMP Securities restated a market perform rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $125.00 price objective (down from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Thirteen research 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, Blackstone presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $123.65.

Blackstone Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:BX opened at $122.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.28, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.49. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $79.92 and a 12 month high of $133.56.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.84% and a return on equity of 17.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 132.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat bought 232 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $127.08 per share, for a total transaction of $29,482.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,349,313. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ruth Porat acquired 232 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the purchase, the director now owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 9,015 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,076,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 19,788 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,120,000 after acquiring an additional 5,228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.