Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Cuts Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lessened its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 113,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,933 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $1,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $63,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $172,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $196,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of BXMT opened at $18.91 on Wednesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.53 and a 12-month high of $20.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.60 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -135.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.14.

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.