Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CEO Katharine A. Keenan Buys 16,000 Shares

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CEO Katharine A. Keenan purchased 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.16 per share, with a total value of $274,560.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 198,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,414,153.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock remained flat at $17.19 on Tuesday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,113,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,155,074. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 581.33 and a beta of 1.49. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.53 and a twelve month high of $23.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.73.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $466.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $131.87 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 7.98% and a positive return on equity of 10.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6,266.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BXMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 11,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 66.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

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.