Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 48,767 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,127,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,767 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned about 0.67% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $20,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth $37,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 420.0% during the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.6%

BXMT opened at $19.66 on Wednesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.51 and a 12-month high of $21.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25 and a beta of 1.07.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.6%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 289.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 3,131 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.24, for a total transaction of $60,240.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 78,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,512,898.92. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 5,049 shares of company stock valued at $98,716 over the last 90 days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.13.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company 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.