Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 67,308 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC trimmed its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 47.0% in Q4, selling 67,308 shares and retaining 75,909 shares valued at about $1.45 million.
• Blackstone paid a quarterly dividend of $0.47 (annualized $1.88), yielding 9.9%, but the payout ratio is very high at 308.2%, raising sustainability concerns.
• Analysts are mixed — the stock has a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $21.13, while BXMT trades around $19.08 and has a $3.22 billion market cap.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 47.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 67,308 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,166,928 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $22,323,000 after purchasing an additional 39,275 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 306,423 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,862,000 after purchasing an additional 6,892 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 45,555 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $228,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BXMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $19.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.92. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $20.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $19.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.23.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 9.9%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the sale, the president owned 76,967 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,136.96. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BXMT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.