Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $260,000 Stock Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,643,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $405,492,000 after buying an additional 2,470,412 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4,968.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 928,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,187,000 after buying an additional 909,838 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,141,173 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,578,000 after buying an additional 669,172 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 22.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,218,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,260,000 after buying an additional 410,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,096,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,316,000 after purchasing an additional 289,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.1 %

BXMT stock opened at $17.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 599.67 and a beta of 1.44. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.83 and a 12-month high of $23.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.47.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.79%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 8,266.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BTIG Research cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.93.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,967,565.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total transaction of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,967,565.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.02% of the company’s stock.

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.