76,172 Shares in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 76,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,326,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $63,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 114.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $17.76. 4,408,935 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,807,260. The stock's fifty day moving average is $19.80 and its 200 day moving average is $18.93. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.53 and a 1-year high of $21.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.18 and a beta of 1.22.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.59%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -160.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the 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.

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.