Norges Bank Takes $38.24 Million Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,998,880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $38,239,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 172,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after buying an additional 13,388 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,749 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 8,275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $439,000. Finally, Summit Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE BXMT opened at $18.05 on Tuesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.67 and a 12 month high of $20.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.4%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 308.20%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the 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 sale, the president owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.38.

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.