The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 2,000,293 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 90.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 222,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,000,293 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.13% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $3,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True North Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 23,993 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,237 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 16,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 10,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 841 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,165 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:BXMT opened at $19.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.24 and a beta of 1.12. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.51 and a fifty-two week high of $21.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.88.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -408.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Henry N. Nassau purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $18.90 per share, with a total value of $189,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 182,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,679.40. This represents a 5.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,652 shares of company stock valued at $116,971 in the last ninety days. 0.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $18.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.25.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.