JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Price

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Free Report) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $149.00 to $154.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BX traded down $2.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $170.86. 3,275,460 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,066,016. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.82 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $179.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.36 billion, a PE ratio of 47.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.19. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 19.58%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackstone will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Blackstone's previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Blackstone's payout ratio is 94.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BX. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC boosted its position in Blackstone by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,184 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,790,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 2.4% during the third quarter. Investmark Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone by 2.3% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 70.00% of the stock is currently 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.