Nuveen LLC Invests $3.23 Million in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, purchasing 168,042 shares valued at approximately $3.23 million, representing about 0.10% of the company.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their positions in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, with notable increases from Blackstone Inc. by 8.2% and Balyasny Asset Management L.P. by 39.4% during the 4th quarter.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend was $0.47 per share, amounting to an annualized dividend yield of 9.7%, despite having a very high dividend payout ratio.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 168,042 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,232,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.10% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blackstone Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 652,537 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 801,083 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,598,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $51,979,000 after purchasing an additional 63,953 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 854,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,092,000 after purchasing an additional 15,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 813,466 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,162,000 after purchasing an additional 17,570 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total transaction of $29,126.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 64,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,374.40. This represents a 2.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 6,931 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.13, for a total transaction of $132,590.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 236,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,532,164.82. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,248 shares of company stock valued at $177,028. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE BXMT traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.55. The company had a trading volume of 582,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,702. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.37. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.51 and a 52-week high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.6%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently -2,685.71%.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.