Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 416,211 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 58,204 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $7,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 259.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $18.33 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.24. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $20.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05 and a beta of 0.89.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BXMT. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.38.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.