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

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 108,501 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,308,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 10,652.0% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 2,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 4,986.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 6,483 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the third quarter worth about $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $17.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 588.33 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.51 and its 200 day moving average is $20.60. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.83 and a 52-week high of $23.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 8,266.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,967,565.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,540 shares of company stock valued at $112,642. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.