Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CFO Sells $10,448.90 in Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.65, for a total value of $10,448.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 66,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,365,109.55. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

BXMT opened at $20.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.81. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.53 and a 1 year high of $21.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.89 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is -160.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BXMT. Wolfe Research raised Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 57,051 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 838,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,607,000 after buying an additional 20,487 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $821,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $883,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 70,381 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,338,000 after buying an additional 9,405 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.