Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,912 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 621 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during 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 buying an additional 121,633 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 114.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,388,000 after buying an additional 17,724 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $184,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

BXMT stock opened at $20.71 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.53 and a 12 month high of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -17.70 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.86.

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.08%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -160.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.