Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Given New $207.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its price target decreased by Bank of America from $219.00 to $207.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.06.

Blackstone Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $124.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.67. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $115.82 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a market capitalization of $90.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.29 and a 200-day moving average of $167.03.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Blackstone will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In related news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,619.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,894,632 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,533,972,000 after purchasing an additional 889,286 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Blackstone by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,341,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,637,266,000 after buying an additional 444,887 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Blackstone by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,016,046 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,209,707,000 after acquiring an additional 681,512 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Blackstone by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,987,702 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,032,400,000 after purchasing an additional 371,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth about $974,448,000. 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.