Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 76,172 Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 76,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,952,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,662,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,607,000 after acquiring an additional 20,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the 4th 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 period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of BXMT opened at $19.14 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.88. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.51 and a 52 week high of $21.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.36 and a beta of 1.22.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.82%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is presently -408.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

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.

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