Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded at Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $165.00 price objective on the asset manager's stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Blackstone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $219.00 to $207.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $157.22.

Remove Ads

Blackstone Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BX traded down $0.26 on Tuesday, hitting $127.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,805,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,690,525. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. Blackstone has a fifty-two week low of $115.66 and a fifty-two week high of $200.96. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $149.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.53%. This is a positive change from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,845,000 after acquiring an additional 15,205 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,229 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,053,000 after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,533,972,000 after buying an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Blackstone by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 909,698 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $139,302,000 after acquiring an additional 51,897 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.