Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT) Position Decreased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FBRT - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 385,750 shares of the company's stock after selling 52,628 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Franklin BSP Realty Trust worth $5,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 181.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 92,432 shares of the company's stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 59,586 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $6,012,000. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 130,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 45,901 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,973,474 shares of the company's stock worth $119,886,000 after acquiring an additional 48,171 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Franklin BSP Realty Trust by 115.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 131,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 70,549 shares during the period. 59.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of FBRT opened at $12.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 90.45, a current ratio of 90.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67. Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.99 and a 52-week high of $14.66.

Franklin BSP Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.07%. Franklin BSP Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 173.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Raymond James increased their price objective 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.

About Franklin BSP Realty Trust

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).