Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $160.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $180.00 to $160.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on BX. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup restated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $168.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of BX opened at $148.65 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $108.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.28. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $115.82 and a 1-year high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 earnings per share (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 forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This is a boost from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is presently 158.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ruth Porat acquired 301 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 36,829 shares in the company, valued at $6,071,260.65. This trade represents a 0.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone by 187.5% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.