Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lessened its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,578 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at about $207,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 26,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 147,757 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,214,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,380,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.93.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $17.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 592.00 and a beta of 1.44. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.83 and a twelve month high of $23.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.49.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.96%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8,266.67%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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

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.