Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 92,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $1,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $821,000. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $883,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 70,381 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 9,405 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.71.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 1.7 %

Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock opened at $20.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.60. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.53 and a 52 week high of $21.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of -17.75 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. On average, research analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.05%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -160.68%.

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.