Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Key Points

• VanECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.0% in Q3, adding 71,584 shares to hold 865,464 shares worth about $15.93 million (roughly 0.52% of the company).
• Blackstone Mortgage Trust recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.47 (annualized $1.88) for a yield of 10.1%, though the dividend payout ratio is very high at 289.23%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Hold with a $21.13 average price target; BXMT trades around $18.57 with a market cap near $3.13 billion and mixed Buy/Hold coverage (2 Buys, 4 Holds).

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 865,464 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 71,584 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.52% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $15,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 5,137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BXMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.13.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 3,131 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.24, for a total value of $60,240.44. Following the transaction, the president owned 78,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,512,898.92. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 4,543 shares of company stock valued at $88,910 over the last 90 days. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.57. 261,653 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,354,833. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54 and a beta of 1.06. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.51 and a 12 month high of $21.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.20.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.1%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 289.23%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.

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