Anthony F. Marone, Jr. Sells 506 Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) Stock

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) CFO Anthony F. Marone, Jr. sold 506 shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.65, for a total transaction of $10,448.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 66,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,365,109.55. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXMT traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.94. 1,806,483 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,744,395. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.79. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.53 and a 12-month high of $21.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.89 and a beta of 1.52.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.87) by $1.26. Blackstone Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a positive return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.98%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -160.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Blackstone Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.67.

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 125.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 1,672.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,844 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 814.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares during 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.