Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 86,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,833,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.05% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the first quarter worth $36,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 10,652.0% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 2,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 2,663 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total transaction of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,967,565.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,540 shares of company stock valued at $112,642. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BXMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.83.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.54. 1,515,837 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,106,758. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.83 and a fifty-two week high of $23.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.68.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 175.89%.

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.