Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $1.33 Million in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

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

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position 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 worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.90 per share, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 182,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,679.40. This trade represents a 5.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BXMT traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.96. 719,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,733,481. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.21 and a beta of 1.12. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.51 and a 1 year high of $21.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.88.

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is -408.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BXMT shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.