Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CEO Katharine A. Keenan Sells 2,323 Shares

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $48,086.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 248,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,143,680.90. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,821,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,742,646. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.53 and a 1-year high of $21.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of -17.20 and a beta of 1.50.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.34%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -160.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth $39,000. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.71.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.