Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $207.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price trimmed by Bank of America from $219.00 to $207.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Blackstone from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.06.

Blackstone Trading Down 6.3 %

BX stock opened at $124.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $156.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.03. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $115.82 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. Analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,713 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 54.0% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 6,031 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $843,000 after buying an additional 2,114 shares in the last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the first quarter worth approximately $1,148,000. Modus Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 34,428 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. 70.00% of the stock is 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.