Zacks Research Downgrades Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to Strong Sell

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BX. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $171.00 to $137.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Blackstone from $167.00 to $156.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Blackstone in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.95.

Blackstone Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE:BX opened at $125.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $93.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.74. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.27. Blackstone has a 12 month low of $101.73 and a 12 month high of $190.09.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The asset manager reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.11 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Blackstone will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 7,477,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 25,832 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,670.32. This represents a 99.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Holdings Iv Gp Mana Blackstone purchased 2,868,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.15 per share, for a total transaction of $75,000,004.35. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 18,628,295 shares in the company, valued at $487,129,914.25. This trade represents a 18.20% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone by 13.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 233,387 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $26,837,000 after buying an additional 26,889 shares during the period. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone by 8.0% during the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter worth $10,204,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Blackstone by 32.3% in the first quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Blackstone by 17.4% in the first quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 21,842 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,512,000 after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares in 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.