Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 808,820 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 15,115 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.47% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $14,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. GFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9,068.6% in the 3rd quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 458,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,715,000 after acquiring an additional 453,430 shares in the last quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 98.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 273,560 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,200,000 after buying an additional 135,963 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 167.8% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 173,034 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,289,000 after buying an additional 108,409 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,937,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,695,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of BXMT traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,157,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,701. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.53 and a 52-week high of $20.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.66 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.43.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.10%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust's payout ratio is -160.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.64.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.