Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Upgraded to “Buy” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $180.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on BX. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Blackstone from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $149.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Blackstone from $174.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” 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, Blackstone presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.38.

Blackstone Trading Up 4.8 %

NYSE BX opened at $147.67 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $165.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $107.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.68, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.55. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $115.82 and a 12 month high of $200.96.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $1.44 dividend. This is a positive change from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.86. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 158.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone

In other Blackstone news, Director Ruth Porat purchased 301 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.85 per share, with a total value of $49,619.85. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,071,260.65. This represents a 0.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aljian Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,951,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 2,185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,946 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,901,000 after purchasing an additional 18,117 shares during the period. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,102,000. Highland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 214.2% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 22,303 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,845,000 after purchasing an additional 15,205 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,169,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $179,089,000 after purchasing an additional 36,343 shares during the period. 70.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.