Virtu Financial LLC Sells 2,695 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,695 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $63,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 114.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,736 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 2,145 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,416.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 9,631 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 8,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

BXMT stock opened at $20.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.62 and its 200-day moving average is $18.92. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.53 and a twelve month high of $21.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of -17.33 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $48,086.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 248,487 shares in the company, valued at $5,143,680.90. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.