Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Shares Sold by World Equity Group Inc.

World Equity Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,853 shares during the period. World Equity Group Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $557,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 112,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on BXMT shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.64.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $20.26 on Monday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.53 and a 52 week high of $21.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of -17.31 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. Analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.28%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -160.68%.

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.