Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target Raised to $177.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $174.00 to $177.00 in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $176.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $127.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $180.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.26.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. Research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 118.21%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in Blackstone by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,790,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Blackstone by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the third 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. Finally, 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. 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.