Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Buys 2,375 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,345 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,375 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $4,952,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $35,662,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,326,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,487 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $18.32 on Friday. 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 $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.26%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -160.68%.

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.