Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC decreased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 47.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 67,308 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $1,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 259.8% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,902 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 76,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,136.96. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BXMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:BXMT opened at $19.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.28 and a 200 day moving average of $19.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29 and a beta of 0.92. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.67 and a 12 month high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.