Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded to “Hold” at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BX. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Blackstone from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Blackstone from $215.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Blackstone from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Blackstone from $136.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $145.71.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $124.13 on Monday. Blackstone has a 12-month low of $101.73 and a 12-month high of $190.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $119.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.21 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.58.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Blackstone had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The company had revenue of $3.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone

In related news, insider Vikrant Sawhney sold 30,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.79, for a total value of $3,775,461.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 899,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $113,169,363.51. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.78, for a total value of $28,264,950.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 19,374 shares in the company, valued at $73,233.72. This trade represents a 99.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 10,252,345 shares of company stock worth $209,789,893. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,747,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Blackstone by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,381,767 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $983,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,178,133 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone in the first quarter worth $164,597,000. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Blackstone by 85.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,709,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $417,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Blackstone by 476.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,324,168 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $204,193,000 after buying an additional 1,094,307 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.