Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Stake Raised by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,868 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust worth $2,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BXMT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 15.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,643,329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $405,492,000 after buying an additional 2,470,412 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,827,439 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,649,000 after purchasing an additional 103,764 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 0.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,787,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $81,136,000 after purchasing an additional 12,582 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted 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 valued at $58,498,000 after purchasing an additional 656,329 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,425,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,745,000 after purchasing an additional 54,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on BXMT shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.25, for a total transaction of $46,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,888,465.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $46,435.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 194,298 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,565.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,888,465.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,540 shares of company stock worth $112,642 over the last 90 days. 1.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Stock Up 2.0 %

BXMT stock opened at $19.78 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.08. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.43. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.60 and a 12-month high of $23.82.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.54%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 175.89%.

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.