Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) President Fernando Austin Pena Sells 1,666 Shares of Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 76,967 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,136.96. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT opened at $18.67 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.25 and a 200-day moving average of $19.12. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73 and a beta of 1.00. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.51 and a 1 year high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.1%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 289.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BXMT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $21.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,588,000. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $2,991,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 36.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 578,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,649,000 after buying an additional 155,421 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $34,608,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,696,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,229,000 after acquiring an additional 101,701 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is 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.