Advisors Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 25.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 976,489 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 197,154 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned about 0.56% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $17,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $4,952,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,662,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,326,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,487 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of BXMT traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 920,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,805,831. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.72 and its 200 day moving average is $18.82. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 1.22. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is -160.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust 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.