Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Free Report) by 12.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,750 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,628 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.47% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $5,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 42.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 132,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 7.6% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 19,639 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 3.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 40,875 shares of the company's stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. 59.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Trading Up 1.4 %

Franklin BSP Realty Trust stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.71. The company had a trading volume of 458,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,642. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 90.45, a quick ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.99 and a 1-year high of $14.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.00.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.355 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.17%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently 173.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FBRT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust from $15.00 to $15.50 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Franklin BSP Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Franklin BSP Realty Trust presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Profile

Benefit Street Partners operates as a self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). BSP earns income from investing in a leveraged portfolio of residential mortgage pass-through securities consisting almost exclusively of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) securities issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, either Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (together, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)), or by an agency of the federal government, Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).