Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 99.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,004,136 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 114.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE BXMT traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $18.75. 118,525 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,792,076. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.83. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.02 and a beta of 1.22.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.03%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is presently -160.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BXMT. UBS Group cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

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.