Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target Cut to $150.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $222.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Blackstone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $160.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.72.

Blackstone Price Performance

BX traded up $0.88 during trading on Monday, reaching $130.26. 4,576,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,711,992. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $115.66 and a 12-month high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The company's 50-day moving average is $145.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.76.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 19.58% and a net margin of 20.99%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Blackstone's payout ratio is currently 158.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 301 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the purchase, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BX. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 3.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,697 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $8,065,000 after acquiring an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 2.4% in the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 31,515 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,405,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 22.8% in the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 14,366 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,008,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Marest Capital LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone by 53.5% in the first quarter. Marest Capital LLC now owns 5,119 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $716,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at about $266,000. 70.00% of the stock is 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.