UBS Group Lowers Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Price Target to $19.00

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) had its price target trimmed by UBS Group from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

BXMT has been the subject of a number of other reports. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $20.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.97. The stock had a trading volume of 138,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,149,047. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.51 and its 200-day moving average is $20.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 588.33 and a beta of 1.42. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $16.83 and a 1 year high of $23.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.80%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8,266.67%.

Insider Activity

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total value of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 192,023 shares in the company, valued at $3,888,465.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 194,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,967,565.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 83,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 12,490 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 46,602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 11,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.