ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 16,091 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 44.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,316 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 16,091 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $320,316,000 after acquiring an additional 63,338 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $149,752,000 after purchasing an additional 652,537 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,832,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,315,000 after purchasing an additional 801,083 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,134,000 after purchasing an additional 121,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,662,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 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, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 182,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,457,679.40. This trade represents a 5.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.50 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 note on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BXMT traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.90. 164,972 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,695,798. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $18.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.16 and a beta of 1.12. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.51 and a twelve month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -408.70%.

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.