Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to Hold

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was upgraded by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on BX. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Blackstone from $190.00 to $165.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays cut their target price on Blackstone from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Blackstone in a report on Monday, June 8th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone from $163.00 to $146.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.71.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $124.13 on Monday. Blackstone has a twelve month low of $101.73 and a twelve month high of $190.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $119.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.27.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. Blackstone’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Private Multi-Asset Blackstone acquired 765,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.14 per share, with a total value of $20,000,001.54. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,882,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,039,270.30. This trade represents a 10.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total transaction of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 10,252,345 shares of company stock valued at $209,789,893 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 9.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 14.7% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 13,528 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 452,619 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $67,703,000 after buying an additional 8,655 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.