Ellis Investment Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 171,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $2,988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $172,000. Finally, Wealthstar Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $178,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BXMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:BXMT opened at $20.34 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.39. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.53 and a twelve month high of $20.73.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 9.35% and a negative net margin of 12.91%. On average, analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

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 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 dividend yield of 9.24%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -135.25%.

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.