Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $175.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target reduced by UBS Group from $180.00 to $175.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $233.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.72.

Blackstone Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of BX stock opened at $124.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $143.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.45. Blackstone has a 1 year low of $115.66 and a 1 year high of $200.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Blackstone’s payout ratio is 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. The trade was a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.