Wells Fargo & Company Raises Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $153.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $139.00 to $153.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 9.73% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $190.00 to $137.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Blackstone in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $129.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $222.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $141.00 to $139.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.65.

Blackstone Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE:BX traded up $3.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $139.43. 3,447,090 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,792,904. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $136.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.73 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.47, for a total value of $3,461,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 475,336 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,819,775.92. This trade represents a 5.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Private Credit Stra Blackstone purchased 1,660,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.00 per share, for a total transaction of $24,900,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 1,666,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,000,005. This represents a 24,898.76% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.