Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Stock Rating Lowered by Wells Fargo & Company

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was downgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $195.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $188.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.51% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on BX. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Blackstone from $172.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.69.

Blackstone Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BX opened at $188.39 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $175.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.70. Blackstone has a 52-week low of $114.88 and a 52-week high of $200.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $136.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.51.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Blackstone had a net margin of 19.46% and a return on equity of 17.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In other news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total value of $7,433,289.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares in the company, valued at $68,112,883.78. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,610,146.69. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone in the third quarter worth about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 276 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

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.