Cetera Investment Advisers Increases Stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 375.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,037 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 97,939 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned about 0.07% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 114.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.90 per share, with a total value of $189,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 182,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,457,679.40. The trade was a 5.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target 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. cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $19.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.80 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. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $19.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.92.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.56%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently -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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.