Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 90.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,000,293 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.13% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $3,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $35,662,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $4,952,000. Senvest Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $3,917,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,096,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,083,000 after purchasing an additional 223,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 976,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,001,000 after purchasing an additional 197,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:BXMT traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,042,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,372. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.51 and a fifty-two week high of $21.24. The business's fifty day moving average is $19.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.88 and a beta of 1.12.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is -408.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 represents a 5.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.