Citigroup Boosts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $170.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $157.00 to $170.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Blackstone from $133.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Blackstone in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.38.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:BX opened at $172.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $123.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $147.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.31. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $88.59 and a 52 week high of $175.94.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The asset manager reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.03). Blackstone had a net margin of 19.35% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th will be paid a $0.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Blackstone’s payout ratio is presently 121.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,688 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Blackstone by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,931 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 7.1% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $418,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Blackstone by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 28,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,709,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is 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.