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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $47,920.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,095,760.40. The trade was a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of BXMT opened at $21.09 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.53 and a 52-week high of $21.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of -18.02 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BXMT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 11,927 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,176,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 532,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,269,000 after buying an additional 56,621 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 425,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,399,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $477,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.