Insider Selling: Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) President Sells $41,917.04 in Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,466.12. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Fernando Austin Pena also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 30th, Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total transaction of $28,506.90.
• On Tuesday, March 31st, Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $31,454.08.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE BXMT opened at $16.98 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.05. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.88 and a 1-year high of $20.67. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 308.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BXMT. Weiss Ratings lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Kennicott Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Kennicott Capital Management LLC now owns 36,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.4% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 249,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a publicly traded real estate finance company that originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other CRE debt investments. As an externally managed real estate investment trust (REIT), it seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the deployment of senior floating-rate and fixed-rate loans backed by income-producing properties.

The firm’s core business activities span the origination of senior mortgage loans, the acquisition of loan portfolios and other real estate debt instruments, and the active management of those investments.