Katharine A. Keenan Sells 2,315 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,315 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares in the company, valued at $5,095,760.40. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $21.08 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.83. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.53 and a one year high of $21.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.01 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, research analysts predict that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BXMT shares. Wolfe Research upgraded 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

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.