Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,204 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 125.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $38,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,388,000 after acquiring an additional 17,724 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 92,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% during 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. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $557,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BXMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $48,086.10. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,143,680.90. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 3,345 shares of company stock valued at $68,265 in the last three months. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $20.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.30 and a beta of 1.52. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.53 and a fifty-two week high of $21.09.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 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%. Analysts forecast that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. 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 9.29%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

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.