California Public Employees Retirement System Has $6.85 Million Stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 321,846 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,598 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.19% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $6,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,096,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,316,000 after acquiring an additional 289,643 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $1,136,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,716,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,643,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $405,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 78,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 43,673 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total transaction of $46,435.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,967,565.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.93.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE BXMT opened at $17.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 599.67 and a beta of 1.44. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.83 and a 52 week high of $23.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.47.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8,266.67%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.