284,458 Shares in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Purchased by ExodusPoint Capital Management LP

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 284,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,952,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $320,316,000 after acquiring an additional 63,338 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,134,000 after purchasing an additional 121,633 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $35,662,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,607,000 after purchasing an additional 20,487 shares during the period. Finally, GFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. GFS Advisors LLC now owns 511,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,900,000 after buying an additional 52,750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $18.38 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.81 and a 200 day moving average of $18.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of -15.71 and a beta of 1.52. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.53 and a one year high of $21.24.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 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 analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.23%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -160.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 5,652 shares of company stock worth $116,971 over the last quarter. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BXMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.83.

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.