Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Reaches New 12-Month Low on Insider Selling

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $17.09 and last traded at $17.4550, with a volume of 2444882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.43.

Specifically, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BXMT has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.61 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.10.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.8%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 308.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 578,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,649,000 after purchasing an additional 155,421 shares during the last quarter. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,991,000. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,696,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,229,000 after purchasing an additional 101,701 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2,836.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 214,626 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,106,000 after purchasing an additional 207,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 865,464 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,933,000 after purchasing an additional 71,584 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.