Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.62

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 15th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, April 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a payout ratio of 102.9% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Blackstone Mortgage Trust to earn $2.31 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 107.4%.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of BXMT traded down $0.12 on Tuesday, reaching $20.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 263,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,161,544. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.91 and a 200-day moving average of $21.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.43. Blackstone Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $16.60 and a twelve month high of $23.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on BXMT. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.67.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 308.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,143,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,215,000 after purchasing an additional 863,715 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,268,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,277,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,498,000 after acquiring an additional 656,329 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,838,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 17.2% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,723,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,468,000 after purchasing an additional 545,134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

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.