Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $3,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $320,316,000 after acquiring an additional 63,338 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,134,000 after purchasing an additional 121,633 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth $35,662,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 976,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 197,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,607,000 after buying an additional 20,487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $48,086.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 248,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,143,680.90. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BXMT shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $18.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 1.22. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.51 and a 52 week high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. Analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.26%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc, a real estate finance company, originates senior loans collateralized by commercial properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company originates and acquires senior floating rate mortgage loans that are secured by a first-priority mortgage on commercial real estate assets.