Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, BMO Capital Markets Analyst Says

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.13.

Blackstone Stock Performance

BX opened at $170.84 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.35 billion, a PE ratio of 58.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $114.88 and a 12-month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. On average, analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 4.43 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 118.21%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In other 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 $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 Trading of Blackstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its position in Blackstone by 1.8% during the third quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Investmark Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 2.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,374 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 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.