Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lowered its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,051,299 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 42,155 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.19% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $35,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on 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, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.90 per share, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly 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. Insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $18.95 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.51 and a 1-year high of $21.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $19.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.20 and a beta of 1.12.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last issued 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, research analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.92%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is -408.70%.

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.

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