Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Buys 2,255 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 98.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,747,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $1,222,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 260,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,540,000 after acquiring an additional 91,526 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 229.8% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 49,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 34,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 160.0% in the 2nd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 69,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 42,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, Director Timothy Steven Johnson purchased 57,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.50 per share, for a total transaction of $998,375.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 423,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,406,892.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 4,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $79,025.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 182,960 shares in the company, valued at $3,207,288.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Steven Johnson acquired 57,050 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.50 per share, with a total value of $998,375.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 423,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,406,892.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 83,050 shares of company stock worth $1,448,135 and sold 6,502 shares worth $114,741. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BXMT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.58.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $18.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 614.33 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.53 and a 1-year high of $23.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.39.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $466.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.87 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 10.16% and a negative net margin of 7.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,266.67%.

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.