Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target Cut to $180.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $195.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

BX has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Blackstone from $164.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Blackstone from $199.00 to $192.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone from $134.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.56.

Blackstone Price Performance

NYSE:BX opened at $176.68 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $180.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.71. 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 $127.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.53. Blackstone has a 52 week low of $114.88 and a 52 week high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The asset manager reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Equities analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 42,249 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.94, for a total transaction of $7,433,289.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 387,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,112,883.78. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in Blackstone by 187.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 161 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the third quarter worth $27,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 255 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone by 57.7% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 276 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

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.