Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $145.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $145.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $126.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Blackstone from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup cut shares of Blackstone from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $124.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a market perform rating on shares of Blackstone in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $119.97.

Blackstone Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE BX opened at $123.19 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.64. The company has a market capitalization of $88.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $79.92 and a 12 month high of $133.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 17.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 205.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 49,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.93, for a total value of $6,268,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 393,143 shares in the company, valued at $50,294,783.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat purchased 232 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,349,313. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of Blackstone by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 121,358 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $13,002,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Blackstone by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 303,069 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,348,000 after acquiring an additional 15,875 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $3,734,000. Kampmann Melissa S. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter valued at about $2,314,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Blackstone by 1,722.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 504,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $54,046,000 after buying an additional 476,768 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.