Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 113,122 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 26.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 113,122 shares and valuing its total holdings at $10.88 million.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their positions in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, with ownership among institutions totaling 64.15% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Blackstone Mortgage Trust, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a range of price targets reflecting potential downward adjustments.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 544,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 113,122 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $10,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BXMT. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% during the fourth 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 during the period. Blackstone Inc. raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $149,752,000 after buying an additional 652,537 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 473.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 625,060 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,882,000 after buying an additional 516,023 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $8,118,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $4,862,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:BXMT traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,068,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,141,244. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -269.14 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.35 and a 200-day moving average of $19.33. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.51 and a 12 month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is -2,685.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 1,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.20, for a total value of $29,126.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 through 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 value of $132,590.03. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 236,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,532,164.82. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,248 shares of company stock valued at $177,028 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

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.