Blackstone (NYSE:BX) PT Raised to $188.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $169.00 to $188.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 8.80% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $134.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Blackstone from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Blackstone from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Blackstone from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.59.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone stock traded up $3.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $172.79. 975,057 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,429,077. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $88.59 and a fifty-two week high of $172.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $146.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.93.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 19.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,567,311.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BX. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 10.9% in 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 lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 9.9% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,931 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 7.1% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,591 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter worth about $418,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.3% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 28,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,709,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.