Cerity Partners LLC Sells 23,394 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 23,394 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $1,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $4,952,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $35,662,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $1,326,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BXMT traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 176,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,348. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.66 and a 200-day moving average of $18.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.33 and a beta of 1.22. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.84%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.