Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 272,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 38,098 shares during the quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $4,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,534,980 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,134,000 after purchasing an additional 121,633 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 167.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 173,034 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,289,000 after purchasing an additional 108,409 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth $1,937,000. Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 405.5% in the third quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 60,128 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 79,809 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth $1,326,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $48,086.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 248,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,143,680.90. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,345 shares of company stock valued at $68,265. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $20.61 on Monday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.53 and a one year high of $21.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of -17.61 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.09 and its 200 day moving average is $18.78.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.12%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -160.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BXMT shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

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.