Piper Sandler Cuts Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $122.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $158.00 to $122.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.30% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone from $165.00 to $126.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Blackstone from $158.00 to $118.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Blackstone from $183.00 to $164.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.38.

Blackstone Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BX traded up $0.41 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $112.65. 1,889,763 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,196,297. The business’s 50 day moving average is $120.12 and its 200-day moving average is $142.94. The company has a market capitalization of $83.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Blackstone has a 1-year low of $101.73 and a 1-year high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The asset manager reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 22.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.51, for a total transaction of $26,246,039.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,670.32. The trade was a 99.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone bought 2,868,069 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.15 per share, with a total value of $75,000,004.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at $487,129,914.25. This represents a 18.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Old North State Trust LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,679,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone during the fourth quarter worth about $2,508,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Blackstone by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 832,305 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $128,292,000 after buying an additional 98,193 shares in the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Fund Advisors of America Inc FL purchased a new position in Blackstone in the fourth quarter valued at about $927,000. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc (NYSE: BX) is a global investment firm focused on alternative asset management. Founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson and headquartered in New York City, the firm organizes and manages investment vehicles that acquire and operate businesses, real estate and credit investments, as well as provide hedge fund solutions and other alternative strategies for institutional and individual investors.

Blackstone’s business is organized around several principal investment platforms.