Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,324,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 319,319 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.55% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $389,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,747,000. Blackstone Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 7,948,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $169,074,000 after acquiring an additional 686,881 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,141,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,578,000 after acquiring an additional 669,172 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 82.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,169,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,875,000 after acquiring an additional 528,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,218,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,260,000 after acquiring an additional 410,722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $39,123.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,454.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $38,493.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 189,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,233,578.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total transaction of $39,123.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,194,454.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,057 shares of company stock worth $191,141. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BXMT shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.93.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $17.90 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.70 and a 12 month high of $23.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of 596.67 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.45.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.85%. 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.