Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 114.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,987 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 52,771 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.06% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $2,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 35.9% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,096,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,316,000 after acquiring an additional 289,643 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth $1,136,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth $4,716,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,643,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $405,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470,412 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 124.8% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 78,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 43,673 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $18.55 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.66. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.83 and a 52-week high of $23.82. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.42.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.37%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 175.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BXMT shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. BTIG Research dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,565.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total transaction of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,565.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642 over the last 90 days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust 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.