KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $600,000 in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 33,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $600,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth $63,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 114.4% in the fourth 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 period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,416.7% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,631 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 8,996 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BXMT. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $48,086.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,143,680.90. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last 90 days. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.76. 4,408,935 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,807,260. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of -15.18 and a beta of 1.22. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.53 and a 12 month high of $21.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.93.

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 (EPS) 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, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is -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.