Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Stake Lessened by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 24,810 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $3,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,134,000 after buying an additional 121,633 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth about $1,937,000. Centiva Capital LP raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 405.5% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 60,128 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 79,809 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,326,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $320,316,000 after purchasing an additional 63,338 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

BXMT opened at $19.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.03 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.76 and a 200-day moving average of $18.96. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.53 and a 12-month high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -160.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised 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. Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.83.

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.