Sankala Group LLC Makes New $562,000 Investment in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 29,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 45.5% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 570,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,405,000 after acquiring an additional 37,838 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,679 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 630,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,142,000 after purchasing an additional 138,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth $226,000. 64.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,666 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $31,454.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 76,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,136.96. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. 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 downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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 objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $18.07 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $17.67 and a one year high of $20.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.63 and a beta of 0.89.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 308.20%.

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.