CF Capital LLC Buys Shares of 135,000 Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

CF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 135,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,350,000. Blackstone Mortgage Trust makes up 2.5% of CF Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. CF Capital LLC owned 0.08% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust 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 company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,952,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in 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 valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $35,662,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,326,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $14,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,487 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.25.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $48,086.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 248,487 shares in the company, valued at $5,143,680.90. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.90 per share, with a total value of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 182,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,679.40. This represents a 5.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BXMT traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,697,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,736,584. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.20 and a beta of 1.12. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

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 9.92%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -408.70%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.