Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 37,772 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 818,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 37,772 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $15,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 98.0% in the second quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 4,555 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $87,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of BXMT stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.85. 1,696,893 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,622,219. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.53 and a fifty-two week high of $23.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.85 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.17.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.08.

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.