108,501 Shares in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 108,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,308,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,643,329 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $405,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470,412 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4,968.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 928,149 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $20,187,000 after acquiring an additional 909,838 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,141,173 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,578,000 after acquiring an additional 669,172 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,218,838 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,260,000 after buying an additional 410,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,096,198 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $23,316,000 after buying an additional 289,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.93.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,465.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642 in the last 90 days. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 1.5 %

BXMT stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $17.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,161,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,174,148. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.57. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.83 and a 1 year high of $23.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 597.17 and a beta of 1.42.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.84%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8,266.67%.

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.