Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price Target Lowered at UBS Group

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at UBS Group from $122.00 to $116.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. UBS Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 5.37% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $140.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Blackstone from $161.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Blackstone from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $122.00 price target for the company. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.65.

Blackstone Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $4.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $110.09. The stock had a trading volume of 5,562,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,056,665. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $82.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.26. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $101.73 and a fifty-two week high of $166.39.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 21.84% and a return on equity of 23.77%. Blackstone’s revenue was up 35.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone news, major shareholder Holdings Iv L.P. Blackstone purchased 191,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.17 per share, for a total transaction of $5,016,658.15. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 8,895,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,794,659.26. This represents a 2.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 100,000 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $12,380,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 771,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,523,956.20. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 1,038,406 shares of company stock worth $27,205,951 and have sold 4,077,276 shares worth $37,573,644. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BX. Wellington Altus USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. NBH Bank purchased a new position in Blackstone in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Blackstone in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone by 26,600.0% during the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is a global alternative asset management firm that provides investment solutions to institutional investors, companies, financial advisers and individual investors. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, the company has developed a broad platform spanning private markets and other alternative investments.

Blackstone’s businesses include private equity, real estate, credit and insurance, infrastructure, secondaries and hedge fund solutions. Its investment activities may involve acquiring and managing companies, commercial and residential properties, infrastructure assets, private credit and other investments on behalf of its clients.

The firm serves clients and invests across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international markets.