Insider Selling: Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) President Sells $20,096.25 in Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) President Fernando Pena sold 1,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.65, for a total value of $20,096.25. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 70,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,047.55. This trade represents a 2.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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, September 17th, Fernando Pena sold 1,127 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.42, for a total value of $15,124.34.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of BXMT stock opened at $10.90 on Friday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.88 and a 12 month high of $20.67. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 121.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $13.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.77.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $158.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.32 million. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 1.57%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.2%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently 2,088.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BXMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXMT. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,142.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 3.5% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.6% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $537,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc (NYSE: BXMT) is a real estate finance company organized as a real estate investment trust. The company originates and holds senior loans secured by commercial properties, with a focus on institutional-quality assets and experienced real estate sponsors.

Its portfolio primarily consists of floating-rate mortgage loans used to finance acquisitions, refinancings, development and other capital needs for commercial real estate. The properties securing its loans may include office buildings, multifamily communities, hotels, industrial facilities, retail centers and other commercial assets.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust is externally managed by BXMT Advisors L.P., an affiliate of Blackstone.