Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 27,003 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 62.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,003 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 121,633 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 167.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 108,409 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,937,000. Centiva Capital LP lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 405.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 60,128 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 79,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,326,000. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BXMT. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $20.71 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.43 and a 200-day moving average of $18.86. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.53 and a 12-month high of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.70 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.08%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently -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.