Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,998,880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $38,239,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.19% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 578,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,649,000 after acquiring an additional 155,421 shares in the last quarter. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,991,000. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,696,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,229,000 after acquiring an additional 101,701 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2,836.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 214,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after acquiring an additional 207,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 865,464 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,933,000 after acquiring an additional 71,584 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $18.05 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58 and a beta of 0.89. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.47 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 308.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the transaction, the president owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,136.96. The trade was a 2.12% 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. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.38.

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.