Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 96.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 174,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,750 shares during the period. Blackstone Mortgage Trust comprises approximately 1.0% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $3,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Kennicott Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Kennicott Capital Management LLC now owns 36,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.4% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 249,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 6,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the transaction, the president owned 74,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,303,466.12. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

NYSE:BXMT opened at $16.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.08. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.88 and a 1-year high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.