Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 98,334 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 583,215 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 98,334 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.34% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $12,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of 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. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 10,652.0% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 2,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 2,663 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4,986.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 6,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BXMT traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,837,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,547. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.33 and a 200 day moving average of $20.47. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 599.67 and a beta of 1.44. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.83 and a 1 year high of $23.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8,266.67%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other 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 value of $46,068.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,565.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,540 shares of company stock valued at $112,642. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective 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 two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.93.

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.