Insider Selling: Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) President Sells $28,506.90 in Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) President Fernando Austin Pena sold 1,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.07, for a total value of $28,506.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 72,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,244,385.93. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Fernando Austin Pena also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, June 25th, Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $41,917.04.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $16.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,220,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,499,844. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.47 and a 200 day moving average of $19.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83 and a beta of 0.89. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.88 and a twelve month high of $20.67.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 308.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on BXMT shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group started coverage on Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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.