Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $704,000 Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,525 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,598,933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,979,000 after acquiring an additional 63,953 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth $35,101,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,033,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,660,000 after purchasing an additional 56,526 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 854,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,092,000 after purchasing an additional 15,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 696.6% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 843,692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,874,000 after purchasing an additional 737,778 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 4,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.49, for a total transaction of $89,517.57. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,482,816.94. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,818 shares of company stock worth $171,190. 1.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $18.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.78 and its 200 day moving average is $19.06. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.51 and a one year high of $21.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.68 and a beta of 1.16.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 303.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BXMT. UBS Group lifted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.75.

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.