Blackstone (NYSE:BX) PT Lowered to $114.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by stock analysts at TD Cowen from $117.00 to $114.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the asset manager's stock. TD Cowen's target price would suggest a potential downside of 3.72% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Blackstone from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $125.00 price target (down from $129.00) on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Blackstone from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lowered Blackstone from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.92.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock traded down $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $118.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,161,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,727,804. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $79.92 and a fifty-two week high of $133.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.61 billion, a PE ratio of 64.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.51. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $126.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.66.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.98. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.30% and a net margin of 17.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.97 earnings per share. Blackstone's revenue was up 166.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total transaction of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares in the company, valued at $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ruth Porat bought 232 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the purchase, the director now 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 quarter, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock worth $37,816,476. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its holdings in Blackstone by 56.1% in the 1st quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,255 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 34.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 8,441 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 10.4% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA increased its stake in Blackstone by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 18,446 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,341,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 38,429 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,878,000 after buying an additional 4,366 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.