Senvest Management LLC Acquires Shares of 225,000 Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Senvest Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 225,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,000. Senvest Management LLC owned 0.13% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

BXMT stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.32. 920,265 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,806,977. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -15.65 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.82. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.51 and a 52 week high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is -160.68%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,143,680.90. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 over the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.