Stifel Financial Corp Buys 25,793 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 36.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 25,793 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $1,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth $35,662,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $4,952,000. Senvest Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,917,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,096,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,083,000 after buying an additional 223,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 976,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,001,000 after acquiring an additional 197,154 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 1.8%

BXMT stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.29. The stock had a trading volume of 120,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,730,284. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.88. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.51 and a 1-year high of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.45 and a beta of 1.12.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -408.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.90 per share, with a total value of $189,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 182,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,679.40. This represents a 5.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

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.