KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 187.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 4,410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BXMT shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 4,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.49, for a total value of $89,517.57. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,482,816.94. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 8,818 shares of company stock valued at $171,190 over the last quarter. 1.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 3.7%

NYSE:BXMT opened at $17.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.03 and a 200 day moving average of $19.05. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.51 and a 52 week high of $21.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -254.71 and a beta of 1.15.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.5%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is presently -2,685.71%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust 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.