Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE:BXMT) Shares Gap Down to $19.13

Shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $19.13, but opened at $18.00. Blackstone Mortgage Trust shares last traded at $17.99, with a volume of 1,246,153 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research dropped their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded 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 report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.29.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 588.33 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.60.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.05%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8,266.67%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

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

Institutional Trading of Blackstone Mortgage Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Central Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 10,652.0% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 2,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,663 shares during the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.