Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CEO Sells $47,920.50 in Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total transaction of $47,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $21.09 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.53 and a 1 year high of $21.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.02 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.84.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 8.62% and a negative net margin of 11.54%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.92%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -160.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 11,927 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,176,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 532,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,269,000 after buying an additional 56,621 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 425,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,399,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $477,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% 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.