Independent Financial Group LLC Buys New Stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. $BXMT

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 252,987 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $4,845,000. Independent Financial Group LLC owned about 0.15% of Blackstone Mortgage Trust as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BXMT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 7.1% during 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 buying an additional 37,838 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 5.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,679 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after buying an additional 3,478 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $12,142,000 after buying an additional 138,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.15% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BXMT opened at $17.07 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.81. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.72 and a 1-year high of $20.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.99 and a beta of 0.90.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.0%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is 308.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, President Fernando Austin Pena sold 2,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $41,917.04. Following the sale, the president owned 74,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,303,466.12. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,420 shares of company stock worth $95,233. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BXMT shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group initiated 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 target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.75.

About Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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.