Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 38,436 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT - Free Report) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 823,935 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 38,436 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.48% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $15,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,103,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,656,000. GFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9,068.6% during the third quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 458,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,715,000 after buying an additional 453,430 shares during the period. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,983,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 381,937 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,653,000 after acquiring an additional 28,772 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.08.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,003,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,961,853. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.36 and a beta of 1.50. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.53 and a 1-year high of $23.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.52 per share, with a total value of $175,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 165,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,900,558.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,495 shares of company stock valued at $27,899. 0.93% of the stock is currently 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.