Quadrature Capital Ltd Makes New Investment in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT)

Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:BXMT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 15,084 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BXMT. Central Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust by 10,652.0% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 2,688 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,663 shares in the last quarter. 64.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BXMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America downgraded Blackstone Mortgage Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Blackstone Mortgage Trust from $18.50 to $17.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Blackstone Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.93.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of BXMT opened at $17.97 on Wednesday. Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.70 and a 1 year high of $23.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 599.00 and a beta of 1.47.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.80%. Blackstone Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 8,266.67%.

Insider Activity at Blackstone Mortgage Trust

In related news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total transaction of $39,123.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,194,454.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Blackstone Mortgage Trust news, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 4,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $79,025.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 182,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,207,288.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Katharine A. Keenan sold 2,296 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.04, for a total value of $39,123.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 187,468 shares in the company, valued at $3,194,454.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,057 shares of company stock valued at $191,141 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

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.