Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 425,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $7,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $320,316,000 after buying an additional 63,338 shares during the period. Blackstone Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 8,601,492 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $149,752,000 after purchasing an additional 652,537 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,832,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,315,000 after purchasing an additional 801,083 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,134,000 after purchasing an additional 121,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,662,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BXMT traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $18.73. 983,281 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,708,774. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.01 and a beta of 1.12. The stock's 50 day moving average is $19.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.93. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.51 and a 1 year high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is -408.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BXMT has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.50 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Wednesday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.50.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.90 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 5.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.