KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $600,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BXMT. True North Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 23,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 14,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BXMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.83.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $19.92 on Thursday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.53 and a one year high of $21.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.03 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.44%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.