Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake by 1.9% in Q4, selling 331,593 shares and leaving it with 16,948,886 shares (about 10.11% of BXMT) worth roughly $324.2 million.
• Blackstone Mortgage Trust pays a quarterly dividend of $0.47 (annualized $1.88) for a 9.8% yield308.2%, suggesting the payout may be unsustainably high.
• Analysts are split between Buy and Hold with a MarketBeat consensus of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.13 versus the recent share price near $19.17.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,948,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 331,593 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.11% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $324,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 570,233 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,405,000 after purchasing an additional 37,838 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,142,000 after purchasing an additional 138,469 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 76,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,136.96. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BXMT shares. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $19.17 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.67 and a 1-year high of $20.67. The business's fifty day moving average price is $19.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.42 and a beta of 0.92.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.8%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 308.20%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.

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